40% of work for the airport expansion has been completed.
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A senior Saudi Arabian official said on Thursday that 40% of work on the King Abdulaziz International Airport expansion project has been completed, with the pace of construction likely to pick up as more workers are scheduled to be brought onto the project.
According to a report by Arab News, 18,500 workers are currently involved in the project. That number is expected to rise to 30,000 once the project reaches new phases.
“We want to complete the project on time by deploying more workers,” Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation said, while also praising the work of the contractors on the project.
“There is good coordination with Jeddah Mayoralty to improve the airport’s southern entrance in a way that would impress visitors,” he added. He also said that GACA would develop areas around the airport.
Prince Fahd added that GACA would go ahead the expansion and renovation of the Kingdom’s airports to meet the country’s development requirements and increasing numbers of passengers and pilgrims. The authority plans to invest more than $53.3bn on the air transport industry over five years.
The new Jeddah airport is expected to be operational next year. Its capacity is set to increase from 30 million passengers a year to 80 million in 20 years.
The expansion project is expected to cost $7.19bn and will make the airport one of the largest hubs in the world. The new airport will cover 670,000m2 and will have 82 domestic, international and VIP lounges, in addition to 96 air-bridges.