Dammam Airports has signed a contract with the Netherlands’ Vanderlande for the installation and maintenance of a new baggage handling system (BHS) infrastructure at King Fahd International airport.

Remo Brunschwiler, Vanderlande CEO, said his company is providing BHS to all four major airports in Saudi Arabia namely, Riyadh, Medina, Jeddah and Dammam.

Last year, Dammam awarded Spanish consultancy Ineco the contract to develop a 50-year masterplan for King Fahd International airport.

The work entails expanding all airport facilities to cater to growing passenger demand as well as the study of the connection of the airport’s cargo area with Saudi Arabia’s main rail freight line.

MEED understands the 50-year plan, which extends to 2047, will include developing a new airport city along with a cargo village.

King Fahd International is the kingdom’s third-largest airport. It trails Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International and Riyadh’s King Khaled International in terms of annual passenger traffic.

According to Ineco, passenger traffic at Dammam’s airport has been growing at a compounded average of 10.7 per cent annually since 2009, reaching 9.68 million in 2016.

Dammam Airports Company was formed as part of Riyadh’s plan to privatise all airportsin the kingdom and transfer airport ownership and operations from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca), Saudi Arabia’s aviation regulatory body, to the Saudi Civil Aviation Holding Company.