Saudi Arabia said to put Jazan airport project on hold

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has put the $685-million King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz airport project in Jazan on hold for the second time since the contract was awarded in December 2015, MEED reported, citing an unnamed source with the knowledge of the project.

The project contractor – a joint venture of Safari Company, Nassir Hazza and Saudi Lebanese Modern Construction – was notified of the decision on October or November last year, the source said.

The construction work had first stopped in 2016 after Saudi Aramco said the proposed airport site may present oil and gas opportunity.

Following this, a new site was allocated and the contractor began site preparation in early 2017, the report said.

The project will feature a single passenger terminal and is expected to have the capacity to handle 2.4 million passengers per annum.

According to the original plan, the new terminal was expected to be completed this year, the news agency said.