Global Alliance to build the new Taif International Airport The General Authority of Civil Aviation receives the new Qunfudah Airport site

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The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) received today on Sunday the land allocated for the new Qunfudah Airport in the north area of the province.  A team of airport planning engineers and Geomatics architects and surveyors for the General Directorate of Engineering Services Airport Sector at the GACA received the newly allocated site for the airport.  This was accomplished using the latest surveying equipment and aerial photography with the participation of Almuzaif Municipality and governorate of Makkah region.
GACA plans to establish a new international airport in Taif region during the next phase, and an economic airport in Qunfuzah province.  The new Taif airport will be considered the new gateway for Haj and Umrah and is consistent with the Kingdom vision 2030, where it’s expected that the number of pilgrims to reach thirty million.  GACA is working on a project designed to meet the highest international standards, and to be built through BTO system, build, operate and manage to raise operating efficiency.  And due to the increase in passenger numbers in Taif airport and an increased demand for international flights, especially haj and umrah flights.  GACA represented by the Airports Sector felt the need for the development of the new airport to cope with the increasing passenger traffic, especially after the GACA Board of Directors approved the transformation of Taif airport from a regional airport into international airport in 1436.  That makes it the fifth international airport in the Kingdom, and it will be located northeast of Taif province.  The new location will be near Souk Okaz and at a distant of 120 KM from Makkah. The project call for the development of a new airport completely.  The new airport will include terminals that are designed in accordance to standard (C) and as approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to receive five million passengers annually and will eventually reach eight million passengers in the future.  The airport will start with one runway measuring (4,300 m) in distant and will be able to accommodate code (F) aircrafts.  Two runways will be taken into account during the design phase, in the case of an increase in passenger’s capacity in the future.  A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued to determine the winning investor who will be in charge of building, operating and managing the new Taif International Airport in 2017.  A concession contract for the operation of the current airport will be signed.  In addition to handing over to the winning investor the allocated site for the new airport with full service logistics to start the construction operations for the airport slated to be opened in the year 2020.
Engineer Tareq Alabduljabar Assistant to the President for Airports was delighted to meet His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Alfaisal, advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah region.  He described the meeting as fruitful and important stressing that Taif Airport project and Qunfudah airport project will dramatically serve Makkah region.  Abduljabbar went on to say that the new Taif International Airport project will be built through a (BTO) system, a contract to build, transfer and operate, and be able to raise operating efficiency and increase revenues through partnership with the private sector.   Further, there are several international alliance that will be competing to create and manage the airport.  Eng. Tareq said that he has been coordinating with relevant government agencies to overcome obstacles and complete the project infrastructure.  GACA has supplied the Road Sector at the Ministry of Transport with a maps showing the new site and coordinates of the new airport, so it can be linked to the network of roads which should end by the year 2018.  The ministry began its work in road design around the airport site.  In addition GACA have started to calculate the water demand and the need of the airport for electricity and energy.  GACA is also working to provide the related infrastructure of communication systems and internet with the relevant authorities.
As for the New Qunfudah economic airport, Alabduljabar pointed out that GACA have received the land site appropriate for the airport, through a team of airport planning engineers and Geomatics architects and surveyors at the General Authority of Civil Aviation.   Work will commence on the planning and design of the project.  He went on to say that GACA have studied fourteen possible building sites for the airport and the study relied on a large number of standards and requirements for selecting an international and regional airports specified site.  The site that was selected is located north of Qunfudah province after a thorough study with the participation of several government agencies including Makkah Region Governorate, and the Ministry of Municipality and rural Affairs and the General Authority of Meteorology.  He went on to say that this step comes as part of plans and strategies to strengthen air transport and to facilitate travel to the local population.  He proceeded to say that an engineering team specializing in planning and surveying of airports will be sent to the province to receive the site, after which there will be steps will be taken to completed the airport construction plan and will be among the top priorities given by GACA airport sector.  The passenger’s traffic in the new airport is expected to exceed half a million passengers annually.