International airport in Makkah soon

By MOHAMMED RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWS

RIYADH: The Shoura Council unanimously agreed Sunday to set up an international airport outside the holy city of Makkah.

The decision was taken when the annual report of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) was tabled at the eighth ordinary session of the Shoura Council held under the chairmanship of Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh.

In a statement after the session, Secretary-General of the Council Mohammed Al-Ghamdi said the decision to set up an airport in Makkah was taken after detailed discussions on the comments and observations made by the council's Transport, Communications and Information Technology Committee on the annual GACA report.

Al-Ghamdi said that the house suggested that the proposed international airport in the Makkah region be located outside the Haram area to allow both Muslims and non-Muslims to travel to the region.

A large number of Haj and Umrah pilgrims are expected to benefit from the proposed facility.

The members also recommended adequate votes to finance the development of the existing domestic airports in the Kingdom with state-of-the art technology. The house also urged GACA to provide better facilities to local and international transit passengers who use the Kingdom's airports.

Recently, the council considered slapping a SR500 fine on those who smoke inside the Kingdom's airports when a draft anti-smoking law was submitted by the committee appointed to draft regulations to prevent smoking in the Kingdom. The draft law also seeks a ban on the cultivation and production of tobacco and tobacco derivatives in the Kingdom. The proposed law covers cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, hookah pipes and any other products containing tobacco.

On Sunday, the council also recommended a national plan to draw up a marine survey using digital technology. The members said the survey should cover the Kingdom's coastal areas and territorial waters.

Regarding security affairs, the council discussed a draft cooperation agreement presented by the defense authorities to introduce new measures to curtail drug trafficking between Egypt and the Kingdom. The agreement included exchange of intelligence, criminal data and documents related to drug pedaling between the two countries. A draft agreement on the transfer of convicted prisoners between the two countries was also tabled at Sunday's session.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article47263.ece.