Gulf Construction Online - State-of-art terminal opens in Madinah

Saudi Focus

An artist’s impression of the terminal.

State-of-art terminal opens in Madinah

01 August 2015

A new terminal has been inaugurated at Madinah’s Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport (PMIA). The facility is believed to be the first Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified airport terminal outside of the US and the first in the Mena (Middle East and North Africa) region.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and Tibah Airports Development Company announced the opening of this iconic project, which consists of 156,940 sq m of terminal space on three floors, 16 aircraft stands served by passenger boarding bridges and 20 remote apron stands.

The project also included the construction of a widened and extended runway, with 10 km of taxiways capable of accommodating A380-size aircraft and ensuring the fast and efficient movement of aircraft.

This public-private partnership (PPP) and fast-track engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project was completed in 30 months.

GACA, as grantor, has contracted with Tibah, as investor, through a build, operate and transfer (BOT) agreement, which is the first airport privatisation in Saudi Arabia.

The Tibah Consortium, which comprises TAV Airports with Al Rajhi and Saudi Oger, appointed a contractor consortium comprising TAV Airports and ACC to design and construct Phase One facilities. The value of the contract was approximately $1.2 billion.

The new terminal and airfield is built to the highest international standards and allows for an initial operating capacity of eight million passengers per year.

The terminal is modular to allow for expansion in Phase Two to cater to the expected future growth in passenger and aircraft traffic, with state-of-the-art facilities, affirming PMIA’s current and future role as a major gateway for scheduled passengers, as well as Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to Madinah and other areas of the kingdom.

The project includes a mosque for 1,000 worshippers, and 20 support buildings including dedicated facilities for Hajj passengers, and a new aircraft rescue and fire-fighting building.

CH2M, a global engineering consultancy with more than 40 years of transportation infrastructure experience in Saudi Arabia, was appointed jointly by GACA and Tibah to be the independent engineer for the project.

Joe Stratford, CH2M’s project director, said: “This iconic infrastructure project will facilitate increasing growth in passenger numbers and aircraft movements through the provision of a world-class modern airport airfield, passenger terminal and landside infrastructure.”