16 July 2017
Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz International Airport being constructed in Jeddah has achieved 90 percent completion rate, a local newspaper reported on Sunday. The airport's first phase, scheduled to start trial operations at the beginning of 2018, is designed to handle 30 million passengers annually, the Arabic language newspaper Al Madina said, adding that the airport's third phase will increase its annual passenger handling capacity to 100 million.

Meanwhile, the Haramain High-speed Rail project is on track for completion by the end of this year, the newspaper said, quoting deputy minister of transportation Saad Al Khalb's briefing to Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Makkah region about the project.

The 450-kilometre railway connecting the holy cities Makkah and Madinah would enable pilgrims and citizens to travel between the two cities in two hours, the report added. 

(Writing by Nada Al Rifai)

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