King Salman International Airport will open in 2030 (Image: Foster Partners)
Asia’s newest airport will be one of the largest in the world once the £22.5 billion project is complete. King Salman International Airport is currently under development and is expected to be completed and operational by 2030. It will serve Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is being built around the current King Khalid International Airport. First announced back in 2022, excitement has built around this new project, which is slated to be the size of 14,000 football fields.
The new modern airport was designed by British architects Foster + Partners, who have shared mock-up images of what it will look like once it is completed. 12 of the 57 square kilometres will be dedicated to shopping, while there will be a 100 million passenger capacity by 2030. The King Khalid International Airport has two parallel runways, so the six runways mark a significant expansion to the number of flights it can facilitate upon completion.
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Mock-up image of King Salman International Airport (Image: Foster Partners)
The estimated cost of the project currently stands at $30 billion, which is around £22.5 billion. The terminal overhaul at King Khalid International Airport was finished in 2025, marking a significant milestone in the airport’s completion.
Despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and disruption to air travel to and through the area, plans for the new airport have not been halted.
“The main terminal seeks to replicate the diverse experiences of the city at a human-scale and integrate natural elements. Passengers get an immediate sense of their surroundings as they step into the terminal, with multiple views through the buildings and visual connections to the outside world,” say Foster + Partners.
“Natural ventilation and climate-controlled lighting efficiently maintain an optimal internal environment throughout the year. Movement through the terminal is intuitive, with clear wayfinding and minimal level changes.”
Inside King Salman International Airport (Image: Foster Partners)
The firm adds: “The airport will become a dynamic aerotropolis centred around a seamless customer journey, world-class efficient operations, and innovation. Riyadh’s identity and the Saudi culture will be taken into consideration in the airport’s design to ensure a unique travel experience for visitors and transit travellers.
“With sustainability at its core, the new airport will achieve LEED Platinum certification by incorporating cutting-edge green initiatives that take into account both embodied and operational carbon, and will be powered by renewable energy.”
Most recently, King Salman International Airport Development Company, a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company, officially unveiled the brand identity for King Salman International Airport (KSIA), with the tagline “Your Journey ..Your Destination”.
The airport is expected to contribute around SAR27 billion per year to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP, which is around £5.33 billion.
Bosses said the recent brand launch marked a “new chapter in the airport journey, as development gains momentum and preparations advance for several key public-facing milestones”.
“Rooted in four brand values – Humanly Driven, Effortlessly Simple, Timelessly Innovative, and Distinctively Local – the KSIA identity speaks to the project’s ambition to redefine how airports serve travellers and communities,” a press release says.
