Riyadh-based Saudi Airlines Cargo Company (Saudia Cargo) plans to double its capacity by expanding existing facilities at Saudi Arabia’s two largest airports.

The firm said it plans to increase capacity at Riyadh’s King Khalid International airport to 530,000 tonnes a year, and at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International to 820,000 tonnes.

It will also increase the total area of its facilities at Riyadh airport to 75,000 square metres (sq m), and nearly double its cargo facility at Jeddah airport to 131,000 sq m.

A number of development programmes and advanced logistics solutions will support the planned expansion projects, local reports said, citing Oman bin Talal Hariri, Saudia Cargo CEO.

In June, Saudia Cargo appointed Germany-based Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics (SPPAL) to undertake the initial expansion phase of Jeddah airport’s air freight centre. The contract covers the installation and long-term maintenance of cargo logistics and "intelligent software".

MEED understands Saudia Cargo's revenue grew by 10.9 per cent and cargo carried increased by 12.6 per cent in 2017.

The firm’s parent company, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), has plans to list 30 per cent of Saudia Cargo as part of its privatisation plan.

However, a date for the Saudia Cargo initial public offering (IPO) has not been set “pending relevant regulatory approvals”.

Shares of two other Saudia subsidiaries, Saudia Catering and Saudia Ground Services, were listed in 2012 and 2015 respectively.