A ceremony was held today (April 1) to mark the opening of the new terminal at Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The US$1bn project was delivered as a joint effort between London-based GMW Architects and Turkish firm TAV Airports.
The new 1,615,000ft2 terminal features 18 Code F contact stands, with apron space for a further 20 remote stands. It is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified and has boosted the airport’s capacity to approximately eight million passengers per year. The terminal was approved for commercial flights after a three-month testing period following the completion of construction work in December 2014.
Alistair Brierley, design director at GMW Architects, said, “The growing number of [annual Islamic pilgrimage] Hajj passengers and the importance of Madinah as a religious site meant that a new terminal and an overall masterplan was the best way to plan for increased passenger flow.
“Passengers expect beautiful and comfortable airport buildings [and] the design of the new terminal reflects this.”
To read more about the Madinah Airport project in an interview with GMW Architects, click here.