Saudi to triple capacity of Riyadh Airport to 25m

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation will triple the capacity of King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh to 25m passengers by 2015, Arab News said, citing the authority’s spokesman, Khaled Al-Khaibary. The expansion work includes the construction of terminal 5, which will be completed by November 2013, the Jeddah-based newspaper reported. The authority has also invited design and project management proposals for the expansion of terminals 3 and 4, the newspaper said. Proposals should be submitted by June, the newspaper said. Earlier this week, it was announced that oil-rich Saudi Arabia plans to invest SAR200bn (US$53.33bn) in its aviation sector over the next five years, it has been reported. According to Arab News, the spending is in order to meet the demands of increasing air traffic in the kingdom due to a fast-growing population and economic development. The report did not give any specific information on how the sum would be allocated to certain projects and when, but there is currently major work ongoing in the country's air transport industry, including the expansion of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport and Riyadh’s King Khaled International Airport. Preliminary studies and design work for the development and expansion of Riyadh's airport have been completed and construction work is due to begin November. The improved Jeddah airport, estimated to cost SAR27bn (US$7.19bn), should begin operations in 2014, with its capacity increased from 17m to 30m passengers annually, reported the newspaper.