Saudi Arabia’s The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) has named Dublin-based daa International as the operator at Red Sea International (RSI), billed as the region’s first-ever carbon-neutral airport.

The 1 billion Saudi riyal ($266 million) agreement covers operations and general maintenance services, the developer of the Red Sea and Amaala mega projects, said in a press statement.

daa International will oversee design consultancy, management, and operations in line with the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations.

TRSDC and daa International will work towards securing ACI Europe’s airport carbon accreditation program’s “Level 4+” rating before operations commence.

RSI, a regenerative airport, is designed by international architecture firm Foster + Partners. 

The project is on track to welcome its first passengers in 2023 and will have the capacity to serve an estimated one million domestic and international tourists per year by 2030, the statement said.

RSI will also have a dedicated runway for seaplanes and water aerodromes, regulated by new GACA safety guidelines.

The statement stated that the airport would also service hydrogen-powered seaplane variants, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), and electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft technology.

In July 2020, the Saudi joint-venture of Nesma & Partners and Almabani won the contract for the construction of runways, aprons, taxiways, helipad, roads and navigation aids for RSI.

(Writing by SA Kader and P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)