King Saud Air Base

As part of its F-15 fighter jet purchases from the U.S., the Royal Saudi Air Force wants to transform the King Khalid Military City in northeastern Saudi Arabia into the country’s flagship air base. It needed an extensive master plan that not only covered the military base, but a new city for 40,000 residents.

The Royal Saudi Air Force retained the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District to oversee the base plan. The Corps hired Stanley Consultants to develop the master plan. Our planners and technical experts, working closely with the Saudis, collaborated on a comprehensive plan for a new, $8 billion oasis city in the desert named King Saud Air Base.

The vision for King Saud Air Base had to include not only a secure base suitable for modern fighter aircraft and administration buildings, but also had to support various military units, administrative and service personnel and their families. A main street town center featuring shops, affordable and attractive housing, restaurants, schools, mosques, recreational facilities, hospital, clinics and VIP visitor quarters was envisioned to provide a high quality of life for base residents. The base also needed extensive utility infrastructure such as power plants, pumping stations, roads, water and sewer.

The project delivery team realized that in order to capture the client’s requirements and review process, an auxiliary planning and design team needed to be on-site to collect data, interview stakeholders and integrate all planning factors. Within two weeks, a team of six Stanley members had boots on the ground, were stationed in Riyadh and worked out of the Royal Saudi headquarters for two months. Each day, the team collected real-time feedback and sent it directly to support team members back in the U.S. There, plans would be revised overnight, and the on-site team was able to review the updates with our Saudi partners the next day.

The airfield section of the plan had to accommodate the complex needs of operating multiple types of aircraft. The project manager's knowledge in air base facilities and operations helped the planning team create a successful master plan. This included organizing various requirements and a dynamic program, such as the airfield layout, clear zones, administration, supply, maintenance, utilities and land use compatibility.