The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has appointed NACO (trading in KSA under the name SADECO) to provide design services for the upgrading of existing airside pavements and the design of a new taxiway at King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh. In addition, the airport will be upgraded with Cat II lighting and navigational systems.

KKIA is the airport for Riyadh, the capital of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and plays a key role for air travel within the Kingdom and to other countries. In order to accommodate and attract future growth, KKIA is expanding its infrastructure so that more aircraft and larger aircraft such as the A380 will be able to visit the capital of Saudi Arabia. By upgrading areas on the airfield to Code F standards and by constructing new aprons and taxiways, a step in fulfilling these ambitions is taken.

NACO, Netherlands Airport Consultants BV will provide an international design team and specialist pavement expertise. Being presently involved in the development of the new master plan for King Khaled International Airport, NACO is familiar with the existing airside layout and the operational challenges that the airport is facing.

NACO MD Rik Krabbendam stated: "We have a long track record of successfully completed pavement projects. Unique is the combination of substantial international experience and know-how of local standards and practices, based on our presence in the Kingdom since more than 40 years. One of the challenges of this project will be the phasing of the works to ensure operational continuity throughout project implementation. A challenge for which we develop creative and feasible solutions".