King Khalid International Airport (KKIA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is one of the busiest airports in the Middle East. The airport is supported by SATCO (Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Company), a leading gate/apron BTO (build/transfer/operate) contractor. SATCO has been awarded the financing, design, supply, installation, operation and maintenance of all present contact and remote aircraft stands at KKIA along with all PBBs (passenger boarding bridges) and GSE (ground support equipment). Since KKIA was facing many operational challenges SATCO decided to bring ADB Safegate on board, signing a € 5.50m deal to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of apron operations at the airport.
“Issues such as delayed and manual docking, irregularity in operations and coordination were affecting the entire airport ecosystem,” said José C. Jamhouri – senior vp, Airports Systems Division, SATCO. “This, in turn, had translated to excessive operational costs such as burning of excessive fuel, noise pollution, delays in disembarking passengers from arriving aircraft to gate reassignments. ADB SAFEGATE has always been a reliable partner and offered us an end-to-end solution to address the growing challenges.”
To resolve KKIA’s issues, ADB Safegate will deliver its gate systems – Safedock™ advanced-visual docking guidance system (A-VDGS) and SafeControl™ Apron Management (SAM). SAM will be the key system of the operation as it will monitor, manage, automate and collect all available data to help plan activities on the apron. Additionally, a new, state-of-the art ALCMS (airfield lighting control and monitoring system), ILCMS (individual light control and monitoring system) and ATC systems will be implemented in due course.
These systems will be installed and integrated together with the addressable LED AGL solution that has already been successfully delivered.
The deal was signed in August 2016 and the upcoming phases that commence in August 2017 will include thorough data collection and distribution, centralization of operations and the facility of providing accurate, comprehensive billing of services to airlines. It will enable higher revenues and profits with increased safety and efficiency of the overall operation and most importantly, the ability to continuously expand in terms of size and functionalities.
“At ADB Safegate we strive to deliver innovative solutions and services that help airports to effectively meet the demands of rapidly growing air and ground traffic. Our partnership with SATCO and KKIA has been a long-standing one. This project is in keeping with our vision to make airports more safe, efficient and sustainable and our automated gate solutions will ensure King Khalid International Airport enjoys these benefits,” said Jamil Atallah – general manager, KSA, ADB Safegate.
