Saudi Arabia announces plans for a six-runway hub airport in Riyadh.

According to state news agency SPA, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday unveiled plans to transform Riyadh Airport into a vast aviation hub with six parallel runways and the capacity to hold up to 120 million passengers by 2030.

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The Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, will construct King Salman International Airport, which will encompass the existing King Khaled airport and cover an area of 57 square kilometres (22.01 square miles), according to SPA.

The airport project is consistent with Saudi Arabia’s goal of transforming Riyadh into one of the top ten city economies in the world and supporting the city’s population expansion to 15-20 million people by 2030. According to the report, King Salman Airport would add 103,000 direct and indirect jobs, accommodate 185 million passengers, and handle 3.5 million tonnes of cargo by 2050.

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It did not provide information on the anticipated investments, but a source familiar with the plans told Reuters that the PIF’s aviation department will receive hefty funds to support an ecosystem of cargo and passenger planes, repair shops, and airports.

Under the transportation plan that calls for the creation of the two hubs, the 77-year-old state airline Saudia will be based out of the Red Sea city of Jeddah. The government is already discussing orders for the two airlines Saudia and RIA with aircraft manufacturers Airbus SE (AIR.PA) and Boeing Co (BA.N).