Saudi Arabia will soon be home to one of the largest airports – King Salman International Airport – the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA), Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced on Monday.
The announcement is in line with PIF’s strategy to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from oil, and is also in line with the National Transport Strategy and the Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative.
The airport’s construction is led by architects Foster + Partners, which “reimagines the traditional terminal as a single concourse loop, served by multiple entrances. The terminal is very much of its place and connects passengers to the sensory experiences of the city, with natural elements, tempered light and state-of-the-art facilities,” the architecture studio’s head Luke Fox said.
The airport, which is a “visionary development will play an important role in shaping the city into a global hub of creativity and innovation,” Foster +Partners senior partner Seif A. Bahaa Eldin added.
The airport project is in line with Saudi Arabia’s vision to transform Riyadh to be among the top ten city economies in the world and to support the growth of Riyadh’s population to 15 to 20 million people by 2030, PIF said in a statement.
King Salman International Airport is expected to cover an area of approximately 57 kilometre square, featuring six parallel runways and the existing terminals named after King Khalid.
The airport will also include 12 kilometre square of airport support facilities, residential and recreational facilities, retail outlets, and other logistics real estate.
By 2030, the airport aims to accommodate up to 120 million travellers and 185 million travellers, with the capacity to process 3.5 million tons of cargo by 2050.
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