King Abdulaziz International Airport.

Saudia Cargo has recently signed agreements with three major companies to construct a new cargo handling facility at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah.

Fawaz Al Fawaz, chairman of Saudia Cargo, and Omar Hariri, CEO of Saudia Cargo, signed the agreements during a ceremony.

The agreements were signed with three companies:  Al-Bawani (represented by CEO Fakher Al Shawaf), which will be in charge of construction and implementation of the project; Siemens (represented by CFO Mohammed Mohammed), which will supply the facility with state-of-the-art mechanical equipment and advanced cargo handling systems; and Aecom (represented by CEO Ian Manser), which will act as the supervisor of the new facility’s engineering works.

“The 75,000-sq-m cargo handling facility has double area of the current one, estimated at 35,000 sq m. The first phase of the project was due to commence last month (June) and is expected to end November 2019 while the second phase begins June 2020 and ends December 2021 as per the implementation plan,” explained Hariri.

The new facility will enhance Saudia Cargo Company’s handling capabilities for hazardous materials, pharmaceuticals, frozen materials and other goods.

“The project comes in line with the Saudia Cargo Strategy 2020, launched recently in alignment with Vision 2030. We will strive to turn the kingdom into a global logistics and economic hub,” Hariri said.