Page 269 - SHARJAH AIRPORT PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2024

2/21/24, 10:50 AM Middle East Airports Expanding In A Fast-Forward Mode To Handle Zooming Passenger Numbers | MENAFN.COM
passengers a year. There is an aspiration for the airport to become the largest in the world,
with a capacity of 100 million passengers a year.

Abha International Airport will undergo a makeover that will see its terminal grow from 113,000
square feet to 700,000 square feet.

The existing airport can handle 1.5 million passengers annually. The new one will be capable
of handling 13 million by the time the first phase of the development is completed in 2028.
The expansion will include the construction of passenger jetways, self-service facilities for

passenger check-in and baggage handling, and high-capacity parking facilities. Saudi Arabia

is building in Riyadh one of the world's largest airports which will have six parallel runways.
The airport will help drive annual passenger traffic to 120 million by 2030 and 185 million by
2050.

Airports in Oman are expected to witness 40 million passengers by 2030. The Sultanate
currently attracts 18 million passengers.

The country currently can handle around 24 million passengers. Officials opened new airports
in Muscat and Duqm in 2019 in addition to two new air cargo terminals. Musandam Airport is

being constructed for US$250 million and is expected to be ready by Q4 2026. The work
includes the construction of two runways and a passenger terminal with a capacity of 250,000

passengers per year.
Lebanon has on anvil plans to construct a US$122 million terminal at Beirut's Rafik Hariri
International Airport to be completed in four years. The new terminal will help it handle 3.5

million passengers annually when operations are planned to begin in 2027.
The airport currently handles 8 million passengers a year, and the plans are to reach 20

million in 2030.
Bahrain is exploring plans to have a second airport by 2034.

It has undergone expansion as part of the US$13 billion investment into its tourism industry.
The new passenger terminal building at Bahrain International Airport doubled its capacity.

The new greenfield airport will eventually replace the existing Bahrain International Airport
(BIA) due to the inadequacy of its current infrastructure in meeting the kingdom's growing

airport needs.
Kuwait has plans to expand its airport terminal capacity from six million passengers per year

to 20 million by 2030 and turn Kuwait International Airport into a major passenger and cargo
hub. The new passenger terminal (T2) was one of the projects aimed at modernizing its
infrastructure to serve Vision 2035. The US$4.36 billion Kuwait Airport's Passenger Terminal-2

expansion will boost its annual passenger handling capacity to 13 million passengers per year
by 2025.

Egypt is working at expanding and bettering aviation facilities keeping in view the plans to
receive up to 30 million visitors by 2028. The UAE's aviation is set to witness growth as the

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