Faisal bin Hamad al-Sugair has been appointed as the new president of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (Gaca).

Al-Sugair replaces Abdullah Rehaimi. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud made the appointment on 20 March by royal decree on the recommendation of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, deputy premier and defence and aviation minister.

King Abdullah is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle in the next few weeks as he tries to implement political reforms in the kingdom (MEED 20:3:11).

Gaca is currently developing a number of airport projects in Saudi Arabia. The main ones are the $1.5bn expansion of Medina International airport and the $3bn expansion of Jeddah International airport.

Bids for Medina airport are due to be submitted on 2 May.