RIYADH —
Saudi Arabia on Monday announced
plans for a new airport in Riyadh intended to spur rapid growth in the capital
while advancing the kingdom’s ambitious aviation goals.
اضافة اعلان
The airport, set to accommodate 120 million
travelers by 2030 and 185 million travelers by 2050, will be named after King
Salman and was announced by his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,
according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
“The airport project is in line with Saudi Arabia’s
vision to transform Riyadh to be among the top 10 city economies in the world
and to support the growth of Riyadh’s population to 15–20 million people by
2030,” SPA said.
The city’s current population is fewer than 8
million.
Saudi Arabia’s aviation goals, part of Prince
Mohammed’s wide-ranging “Vision 2030” reforms, include more than tripling
annual traffic to 330 million passengers by the end of the decade.
It also wants to draw $100 billion in investments to
the sector by 2030, establish a new national flag carrier and move up to 5
million tonnes of cargo each year.
The new airport is expected to be able to process
3.5 million tons of cargo by 2050, SPA said.
It “will boost Riyadh’s position as a global
logistics hub, stimulate transport, trade and tourism, and act as a bridge
linking the east with the west,” SPA said.
The announcement did not provide information about
the cost of the project, which has been designed to cover 57sq.km.
“With sustainability at its core, the new airport
will achieve LEED Platinum certification by incorporating cutting edge green
initiatives into its design and will be powered by renewable energy,” SPA said,
referring to the green building certification program.
The kingdom’s busiest international airport is
currently in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, the self-avowed “Gateway to
Mecca” for millions of Muslims performing the hajj and umrah pilgrimages.
But officials have in recent years tried to position
Riyadh, in central Saudi Arabia, as a rival to business hub Dubai in the UAE.
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