Aviation360 MEA

Mace, a UK-based firm, has secured the role of delivery partner for the King Salman International Airport (KSIA) project in Riyadh, which is recognized as the world’s largest airport initiative. International firms had been in competition for this role, which typically involves providing project management, design management, cost consulting, and procurement advice to assist the client throughout the project development. Mace, with over 30 years of experience at London’s Heathrow airport, was appointed as the delivery partner for three significant infrastructure projects at Heathrow in 2023.

For the KSIA project, Foster + Partners from the UK won the competition to design the masterplan, while US-based Jacobs is handling the infrastructure design. The project spans an area of approximately 57 square kilometers, allowing for six parallel runways, incorporating existing terminals from King Khalid International Airport (KKIA), and including support facilities, residential areas, retail outlets, and logistics real estate. The ambitious project, set to be completed by 2030, aims to become the world’s largest operational airport in terms of passenger capacity, accommodating up to 120 million passengers by 2030 and 185 million by 2050.

Saudi Arabia, as part of its aviation strategy, plans to invest $100 billion in the sector, aiming to triple annual passenger traffic to 330 million by 2030, increase air cargo traffic to 4.5 million tonnes, and expand the country’s air connections to over 250 destinations.

The global airport projects pipeline, valued at $580.4 billion, is slightly less than the $588.4 billion recorded in Q4 2023, with the majority of projects in the advanced stages of development. Projects in the execution stage account for $453.7 billion, while those in the pre-execution stages make up $124.7 billion. The pipeline is dominated by projects in the pre-execution and execution phases, highlighting the global growth and expansion in the airport industry.