JEDDAH: The second phase of the expansion of the Hajj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport will begin next month after the departure of all pilgrims, reported the Saudi Gazette. Abdullah Raheemy, president of the Civil Aviation Authority, said the expansion would increase the Hajj terminal capacity, the paper reported. In the second phase, the air-conditioned area will be increased to 85,000 square meters from 28,000 square meters, the area of the terminal to 90,000 square meters from 30,000 square meters and the area of the facilities to 40,000 square meters from 20,000 square meters. There will also be an increase in the number of departure gates from six to 10, passport counters from 72 to 136, and of travel counters from 96 to 140 to speed up the departure formalities. The prayer area, the restaurant area and the duty free shops area will become bigger. Raheemy said the expansion project aims to cater to the growing number of Umrah performers and pilgrims in the next 20 years.
