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Airport .... to handle 40 million passengers on project completion.

Madinah airport set for Phase One launch

RIYADH, July 2, 2015

A new terminal at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah will be opened today by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

Built on an area of four million sq m, the new terminal, which is part of the first phase expansion, will handle eight million passengers a year. Subsequent phases of the expansion will increase the airport's capacity to 18 million, and 40 million respectively, 

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has been operating the airport on a trial basis since April, according to an Arab News report.

Phase One work includes the construction of a second terminal, a new passengers’ lounge, a new commercial area and expansion of the existing second runway.

The project is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia to be developed under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract signed in October 2011.
 
Under the deal, the Taibah International consortium, comprising TAV of Turkey along with the local Al Rajhi Holding and Saudi Oger, is responsible for developing and operating the airport, which is ranked the fourth largest Saudi airport in terms of passenger capacity and air traffic.
 
Madinah is the second most important holy city for Muslims after Makkah, and receives an estimated 11 million visitors per year.
 
According to a spokesman for the General Civil Aviation Authority (GACA) of Saudi Arabia, Taibah International, which started work on the airport in June 2012, was chosen not only for the construction of the airport but also to improve services and attract more air and passenger traffic. 
 
While the consortium will operate the airport for a period of 25 years, certain services such as security, immigration and customs services will remain exclusively under the government’s purview.
 
According to Arab News, the passenger terminal building covers an area of 155,000 sq m and has 72 check-in counters, of which eight are for larger size baggage, 24 counters for self check-in services, 26 passport counters for departures and a similar number for arrivals. It also boasts a seating capacity of 4,000.

The airport features 36 elevators, 28 escalators and 23 conveyor belts to facilitate and speed up movement of passengers and luggage inside the passenger terminal complex, said the report.

In addition, the new airport comprises local and international shopping outlets, restaurants, and cafes, banking, and transport services including buses and taxis.

GACA president Suleiman Al Hamdan said six external terminals have been built over a total area of 10,000 sq m. These terminals are located close to the Haj terminal to speed up procedures for arrivals and departures, he noted.

According to him, this is the first facility in the world outside America to abide by the standards for energy use stipulated by the United States Green Building Council.

The total investment for the first phase is $1.2 billion funded by the National Commercial Bank, Saudi British Bank and Arab National Bank, under the supervision of the International Finance Authority, a member of the World Bank Group.




Tags: Saudi | airport | Madinah |

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