Daa International has signed a contract to manage the new airport in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Project, to be fully operational by 2022.
In line with the giga project’s focus on sustainability, the airport will incorporate several green elements.
The airport will be rolled out in three phases starting with the runaway and is set to welcome a million passengers annually by the project’s completion date, with a peak capacity of 900 passengers per hour.
“The Red Sea Development Company, the developers behind the Red Sea Project, are very keen to make sure that the sea itself is not majorly impacted by the development so all of us operating there will be taking real care in regards to the environment and making sure we bring to the forefront any sustainable technology that we have available,” said Nick Cole, CEO of daa International, an airport management and aviation advisory services business.
The Red Sea Project, the multi-billion dollar tourism development, will deliver up to 8,000 hotel rooms across 22 islands and six inland sites upon its completion in 2030.
The project area covers 28,000 square kilometres, slightly smaller than the size of Belgium, and has regeneration and sustainability at its heart.
When it comes to the aviation industry, commitment to sustainability will be manifested across three keys areas, said Cole, pictured below.
“Whoever decides to fly to the Red Sea will be flying in on the newest, most efficient and quietest aircraft available. Our contract spans 12 years so during that time we expect to see sustainable aviation fuel starting to be used by several of the carriers that can potentially fly to and from the Red Sea,” explained Cole.
“Perhaps I am being a bit ambitious but I would like to see the first electric engine being used on short-haul aircrafts during that period,” he continued.
About 95 percent of ground vehicles used in the airport will be sustainable vehicles, either electric or hydrogen-based as the energy type becomes more commonly used, said Cole.
“In the supervision of the construction, we will be minimising the amount of air miles being used so we are looking at hiring locally as much as possible, be it local construction firms or local employees,” said Cole.
Cole expects the impact of coronavirus on the aviation industry to be mostly negated by the time the airport is fully operational in 2022.
“I think we can all safely say that the end has started in terms of coronavirus. Unfortunately, I think it is going to get worse before it gets better. I would say the vaccine would start to roll out in earnest in June 2021 and I would like to believe that most of our industry can start to see some glimmer of light by the end of this year or early the next,” said Cole.
“I think the Arab countries are really at the forefront of vaccination and I am pretty sure that the impact on the Red Sea Project, given its timescale, will be negated. I am not saying there will not be any but I am saying it will be negated considerably,” he added.
“The footprint of the airport and passenger numbers are deliberately low to minimise the impact on the environment and also because the requirement of the airport is simply to service the development,” explained Cole.
Follow us on
