Director General of Business Development and Properties at Domestic Airports, Ala Samman, said the first phase of the huge expansion project at Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah will be finished in 2014. Samman said that after reviewing best offers, the contract for implementing the project will be awarded to the winning company in October 2010.
After the project is finished, the airports annual capacity will be increased to 30 million, and most of these will be Haj or Umrah pilgrims. Public and private sector will help with the project following the BOT system. Samman said it will decrease pressure on the flow of passengers through King Abdulaziz International Airport, which is now the main gateway for pilgrims. The General Authority of Civil Aviation has contracted with the International Finance Corporation to prepare technical, commercial, financial, and legal studies for the project.
