New Jeddah airport to be ready in 2015
Expansion works on King Abdulaziz International Airport are 45 percent complete, said Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. Prince Khaled expects the airport to begin operating in 2015.
During an inspection tour of the project, the governor was briefed on airport projects, which include works on transportation facilities, airport entrances, travelers’ lounges, the tower building, subways and parking lots.
“SR 27 billion was allocated for the first phase of the project that will accommodate 30 million passengers,” said Prince Khaled.
The airport buildings include 46 gates to accommodate 92 airplanes simultaneously, with more than 24,000 personnel working around the clock on weekdays.
The project is currently the biggest in Jeddah. Infrastructure works on sewage, flood prevention, desalinated water and electricity will be completed once the other projects are completed.
Prince Khaled said: “Major projects are progressing according to their time frame. This does not mean we have forgotten smaller projects. They have our support for full implementation.”
The new airport is one of the biggest in the Middle East and Asia, located on an area of 105,000 sq. meters and equipped with several service entities and facilities.
Expanding the airport was a necessity in light of the increasing number of visitors to Jeddah each succeeding year and the development of air travel services in the region and worldwide.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) aspires to build one of the biggest and most important airports of the region in order to acquire a large share of transit and air travel market and become a hub linking East with West. Thousands of expatriate women have been flocking to the Passport Department in Rehab district over the last few days to record their biometric details before the July 3 deadline.
The women appear to be mostly from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The majority are housewives who had arrived with their husbands on Umrah and Haj visas, or had overstayed their visit visas.
There are hardly any illegal or runaway housemaids. The center has been designated to deal with men and women household helpers, but has over the last four days given priority to women who want to regularize their status in the country.
The center is now open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and sometimes much later.
Hundreds of cars have been arriving at the center in Qaryan Al-Meleh Street before 6 a.m. over the past few days, resulting in lengthy queues.
Three days ago, crowds of frus- trated women who had been waiting for long hours to get inside, stormed the main entrance of the building, resulting in some falling and hurting themselves. Others fainted outside under the scorching sun.
Now better arrangements have been made for the crowds, including additional staff posted at the center. A separate gate has been designated for women.
Women have to wait in long queues outside before entering the premises. Only 20 women are allowed at one time inside the room where the biometric scanners are installed to record their data.
All visiting women appear to be in possession of their original passports that contain their invalid Haj, Umrah or visit visas.
Abdul Karim Mohsin Awad, a Sudanese expatriate, told Arab News that he brought his wife at 7 a.m. but she was only able to record her data at 1 p.m.
Mohammed Khurshid Alam from Bangladesh said that he also brought his spouse at 7 a.m. but was able to get inside at noon.
Abdullah Gulzada Khan, a Pakistani, said that he brought his wife on a visit visa three years ago and now wants to return to Pakistan. They have a one-year-old daughter.
Some Arab expatriates and Saudi philanthropists have been handing out water bottles inside to the women and their husbands waiting outside. There is often a rush for the free water by some women inside the premises.
While most of the women leave their children with their husbands outside, some were seen with their little ones inside.