Jeddah, July 12 : Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will open the newly expanded Prince Abdul Mohsen bin Abdul Aziz Airport in the industrial city of Yanbu during his tour of Madinah province.
An official statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday said King Abdullah would begin his several-day tour of the province on Sunday. He will launch a number of industrial, human welfare and development projects during the tour.
“The king’s visit is aimed at closely monitoring the condition of citizens in the province as well as understanding the requirements for their development,” the statement said. This is King Abdullah’s second visit to Madinah in less than a year. He visited the holy city last October.
Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed expressed his happiness at the royal visit and hoped it would contribute to strengthening the province’s development.
“The royal visit reflects the strong relationship between the Saudi leadership and people,” the governor said, adding that the people of Madinah are eagerly looking forward to meeting the king.
King Abdullah approved the Yanbu airport expansion when he visited the city in July 2005, a month before he became king. During that visit, he laid the foundation for the second industrial city (Yanbu-II), which is expected to attract new investment projects worth SR115 billion.
The expanded Yanbu airport will have modern aviation and passenger facilities. Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, signed an SR188 million contract in June 2006 with a national company to carry out the project.
“An important feature of the new airport is air bridges that link the passenger lounge directly with aircraft. This is the first time an air bridge has been installed in a regional airport in the Kingdom,” a senior airport official said.
Spread over an area of 8,500 sq. meters, the airport has new control towers, cargo facilities and security and safety systems.
—Agencies