Riyadh-based Infinity Support Services has signed a deal with Flight Safety International Company to set up an aviation academy in the Saudi capital at a cost of SR1 billion ($266.6 million), said a report.

The academy would be run by the private sector, Khalid Al-Khaibary, official spokesperson of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) was quoted as saying in the Arab News report.

The institute, which will specialise in the field of aviation, will be built on an area of 50,000 sq m and will benefit a large number of Saudi and Arab youths who are interested in joining the aviation industry, it said..

“The growing demand for 2,000 pilots a year underlines the need for technically qualified people in the aviation sector,” he was quoted as saying, adding that the new academy would attempt to fulfill these needs by training people across all sections of the aviation industry.

The programmes will be designed to international standards and the facility would have state-of-the art equipment for various training disciplines, said the report.

Meanwhile, Gaca has signed an agreement with the Alpha Star Aviation Services to set up a private aviation centre in Riyadh, it added.