Arab News, Tue, May 21, 2024 | Dhu al-Qadah 13, 1445
Saudi aviation industry likely to create 35,000 new jobs by 2030
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia unveiled its first “State of Aviation” report, highlighting the
sector’s contributions to the Kingdom’s economic growth, as industry leaders
gathered for the Future Aviation Forum.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the three-day
event in Riyadh, Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Saleh
Al-Jasser emphasized the unprecedented importance of aviation.
Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector contributed $21
billion to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product in 2023 while generating an
additional $32.2 billion in tourism receipts, positively impacting other key
areas of the economy.
“This transformation is one that we invite the
world to share. We seek private sector partners with expertise to help us
achieve our ambition,” said Al-Jasser.
The minister also reflected on the progress made
in the aviation industry over the past two years and how industry leaders
collaborated to overcome a major crisis by addressing global challenges and
unlocking new opportunities.
This collaboration led to the introduction of new
global policies, the announcement of nearly $3 billion in aviation deals, the
signing of the Riyadh Aviation Declaration, and the commencement of a new golden
age for aviation.
The State of Aviation report by GACA revealed that
the Kingdom’s aviation sector contributed $53 billion to the economy and
supported approximately 958,000 jobs nationwide.
Furthermore, the regulator introduced its General
Aviation Roadmap during the forum, aiming to foster the development of Saudi
Arabia’s business jet and private industry.
With targeted investments in six specialized
general aviation airports and other initiatives, the roadmap projects the
sector’s contribution to GDP to reach around $2 billion and the creation of
35,000 new jobs by 2030.
Al-Jasser shared three brief points, emphasizing
the importance of aviation in driving global growth and well-being, highlighting
the enormous opportunities being created in Saudi Arabia for everyone, and
noting how this week reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the global aviation
industry.
“Globally, aviation traffic numbers have passed
pre-pandemic levels, with air cargo fueling 80 percent of the world’s commerce
needs,” he continued.
Outlining the achievements and developments in
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation sector since 2022, Al-Jasser noted that the
Kingdom recorded 111 million passengers last year and announced a comprehensive
economic policy for the civil aviation sector.
He stated that the Kingdom confirmed the order of
hundreds of aircraft through the existing Saudi carrier and launched the Riyadh
King Salman International Airport master plan to support more than 100 million
passengers by 2030.
The minister added: “We also opened Riyadh
Integrated Special Logistics Zone, securing a leading global investor and
AviLease, a global aircraft leasing company, and established Riyadh Air to
connect Riyadh.”
During the keynote address, Abdulaziz Al-Duailej,
president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, underscored the importance
of this forum and its role in enhancing connectivity.
“We’ve gone from almost zero flights to almost 37
million flights last year. this is unprecedented and also proves the resilience
and strength of the global aviation industry,” Al-Duailej said.
He also underscored examples of challenges,
including what he pressed on the most, manufacturing and supply chain
disruption.
“The aviation industry globally is facing a
serious shortage of manufacturing capabilities and challenges in the whole value
chain of the process. This is an area where we need to focus on,” said the GACA
president.
He added: “Also, environmental sustainability is a
very important element and objective, as we all agreed to protect our mother
nature, we all agreed on specific targets on net zero carbon emission.
Nonetheless, we agree on what and on why, but we have issues around how.”
Commenting on the significant growth in Saudi
Arabia’s aviation sector, he also mentioned that in 2023 the number of
passengers reached a record 112 million, up from 88 million in 2022, marking a
27 percent year-on-year increase.
The first quarter of the current year has already
seen an additional 20 percent increase in passenger numbers.
In terms of connectivity, the number of direct
international destinations from the Kingdom rose to 148, marking a 47 percent
increase from 2019 when there were 99 direct destinations.
“In cargo, we’ve not done as well as we
anticipated, but we still have about 6 percent growth in air cargo, reaching
about a million, and hopefully on the way to reaching 4.5 million,” Al-Duailej
said.
The GACA chief said: “Aviation is a major economic
enabler. I don’t think other national strategies will achieve their expected
targets if we do not succeed in aviation.”
He further discussed Saudi Arabia’s expansion and
development plans for airports, revealing that the current capacity of Saudi
airports, set at 120 million passengers, is poised to exceed 300 million.
“We are already working on the current terminals
and expanding King Salman’s and King Khaled airports from the current 30+
million, and by the end of 2025, we will reach 54 million and on the way to
reaching 100+ million by 2030,” Al-Duailej said.
He added: “King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah, the
largest airport in the Kingdom, handled 43 million passengers last year and is
expected to reach about 50 million passengers.”
Moreover, Al-Duailej stressed privatization as a
key strategy to enhance connectivity.
“We are also working on privatization.
Privatization is another important element in achieving this connectivity. The
Kingdom has the first successful PPP model in the Middle East region,” he
explained.
In 2012, the GACA president added, the Kingdom
signed the first concession agreement with the private sector to build the
Medinah airport in the West, and by 2015, the airport started with 8 million
passengers fully financed and funded and operated by the private sector.
He also stated that three weeks ago, an agreement
was signed to expand an existing concession with the same company that
originally held it.
This expansion will greatly increase the capacity
from 8 million to about 17 million by 2028, more than doubling the current
capacity.
During the third panel session, Al-Jasser further
explained the collaborative effort with partners and the private sector in Saudi
Arabia.
“The marine sector is highly privatized, where we
signed concession agreements in our two main ports with the private sector to
invest more than SR17 billion, to build new infrastructure to cater for growth,”
the minister said.
Al-Jasser noted that the expansion plans for King
Salman Airport are progressing well, and the airport is expected to handle 100
million passengers by 2030.
Additionally, the ministry is managing the
transition period leading up to this goal by building more terminals and
expanding existing ones to accommodate the increased passenger capacity before
2030.