Work on the new King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is about 80 per cent complete and will be operational as per schedule in 2017, said a report.

The new airport, which is being built over an area of 105 sq km, is set to become one of the most vital modern landmarks in the city, reported Arab News.

It won an award for the world’s best airport engineering project at the eighth Annual Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum in 2015 in terms of specifications and modern technology.

Once all its phases are complete, it will handle up to 80 million passengers a year. It will feature a baggage system over 33 km, 132 vertical lifts, 32 baggage screening machines, and a smart building services management system, said the report.

Passengers will have access to information on interactive screens in passenger lounges via mobile applications. It would include self-service boarding and passport checking using photographs and biometrics, it stated.

The new airport will also boast more than 22,000 parking lots for vehicles and buses, with mobile applications that can identify free parking bays and a lighting system showing which are taken, it added.