King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, will begin a visit to the Madina region today to launch a number of industrial and development projects. The King will also inaugurate the new expansion of Prince Abdul Mohsin Bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Yanbu Governorate. Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Madina Region, is overseeing the arrangements for the visit during which the King will also meet with the people of Madina. Some SR210 million has been spent to increase the airport's total area to 51.876 million sq.m. of which the built-up area is 23,000 sq.m., said Abdullah Raheemi, President of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) The airport now has an ultra-modern 8,500-sq.m. building for the departure and arrival terminals. Two chutes with a capacity of 500 passengers per hour link the planes to the terminals. The runway has been extended to 3,211 meters, with a 600x60-meter safety area included at each end to accommodate large planes. Additionally a new parking area for four planes has been constructed. The built-up area of the 30-meter-tall control and observation towers is 785 sq.m., the cargo buildings 2,163 sq.m., and the firefighting and rescue building 2,090 sq.m.. At the Prophet's Mosque, work is going on to mount 250 canopies on pillars in the courtyards. This work is part of the Mosque expansion project that includes providing shade in the eastern, western and northern courtyards as well as creating six lanes in the western courtyard. The canopies on three sides of the Prophet's Mosque will cover an area of 104,000 sq.m, enough to accommodate 200,000 worshippers. – With Khalid Al
