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Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is to build one of the world’s largest airports, according to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, which will give a major boost to the country’s ambitions to become a global trade and tourism hub .
King Salman International Airport in Riyadh will have six parallel runways and is expected to contribute 27 billion riyals ($7.18 billion) a year to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil gross domestic product.
The airport will help drive annual passenger traffic in Saudi Arabia from the current 29 million to 120 million by 2030 and 185 million by 2050, and Saudi Arabia’s aircraft traffic from 211,000 annually to more than 100 million sorties.
With sustainability at its core, the new airport will achieve LEED Platinum certification by incorporating state-of-the-art green initiatives into its design and will be powered by renewable energy, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The development, to be built by the Public Investment Fund, will include the existing terminal, named after King Khalid, capable of handling 3.5 million tons of cargo by 2050.
It will be an aerotropolis centered on a seamless customer journey, world-class efficient operations and innovation, the SPA report added. The airport’s design will take into account Riyadh’s identity and Saudi culture to ensure a unique travel experience for tourists and transit passengers.
“The airport project is in line with Saudi Arabia’s vision to transform Riyadh into one of the world’s top 10 urban economies and support Riyadh’s population growth to 150-20 million by 2030,” the SPA said.
It added that King Salman Airport will create 103,000 direct and indirect jobs.
It gave no details of the planned investment, but a person familiar with the plan told Reuters that PIF’s aviation arm is getting huge sums of money to create an ecosystem of cargo and passenger airlines, maintenance companies and airports.
The 77-year-old state-owned airline Saudia will be based in the Red Sea city of Jeddah under a transport strategy that calls for two hubs.
Saudi Arabia is already in talks with planemakers Airbus and Boeing over orders from the two airlines, Saudia and Aeroflot.
The announcement comes on the eve of the World Travel & Tourism Global Summit in Riyadh on November 28.
Touted as one of the biggest travel events of the year, the global summit is being held at the King Abdulaziz International Convention Center under the theme “Travel for a Better Future”.
During the event, industry leaders will share their vision for the future of the industry and the challenges that must be addressed to ensure a safer, more resilient, inclusive and sustainable travel industry.
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