King Abdulaziz Airport ​expansion​ ​costs $3.8 bl​n​: report

The total cost of the first and second phase of King Abdulaziz International Airport is estimated at $3.85 billion as of May 2018, BNC Network said in a new report.

The consultancy put the total value of 95 aviation projects underway in the Gulf region at $49 billion.

Of these developments, 68 projects, worth $45 billion, fell in the airport terminal category, while 27 projects, valued at over $3 billion, involved hanger, runway and ancillary facilities.

The $12 billion greenfield airport project in Kuwait City topped the list of major airport projects in the GCC followed by $4 billion Kuwait International Airport expansion of passenger terminal and $2.94 billion Abu Dhabi Int'l Airport Expansion Midfield Terminal Building (MTB).

According to BNC, the $1.8 billion King Khalid International Airport Expansion Terminal 3 & 4 and $1.5 billion Madinah Airport Expansion - Phase 2 in Saudi Arabia are on hold.

"The expansion of the airline fleet will put additional pressure on the region's aviation infrastructure in the future. Therefore, the investment in airport capacity expansion as well as the development of new airports will help manage the future demand of air traffic," said Avin Gidwani, chief executive officer, BNC Network.

"The airport projects are broadly in line with the development of the region's aviation sector that is led by the two UAE carriers - Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways as well as other leading regional airlines such as Saudi Arabian Airlines, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Air Arabia, Fly Dubai and Oman Air," he added.