Alan McCartney, chairman of the British Airports Group (BAG), met Abdullah Al-Rehaimy of the Genera Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) in Jeddah yesterday to share ideas and explore the UK experience in airport construction and logistics.

McCartney said that he felt he received a lot of support, not only on specific areas of mutual interest but also on the general approach to airport development in the Kingdom.

The BAG represents over 200 British companies who between them have huge experience in all aspects of construction, management and security. "We monitor airport development around the world," said McCartney, "and when we recognize a country's expansion programs for airports, we build relationships and partnerships."

He said he was primarily here as a result of the expansion plans and building of the new Jeddah airport.

He has also held meetings in Jeddah with contractors likely to be involved with the bidding for the airport construction projects.

The expertise within the BAG extends from the development of master plans through financial planning.

"The GACA has a particular need and are responsible for developing the country's airports and we responded and can plug the right people in at the right level."

An example of the kind of ingenuity and expertise that he wanted to share with the GACA was demonstrated by Qinetic, which as a result of the Concorde disaster caused by a slim metal strip, devised a ground radar that sweeps the runway every few seconds and can locate objects as small as a single nut or bolt on the surface and record its position on a GPS system. A recent delegation from the GACA visited the Qinetic plant on an exploratory trip to the UK.

The BAG has been involved in airport projects worldwide. Companies in the group were heavily involved in the construction of the new airport in Hong Kong, the new Terminal 8 at JFK airport in New York, Dubai and the work in progress at the new Beijing airport.

Omar Saeed at the British Consulate in Jeddah said that the visit was part of the good trade and knowledge sharing relationships that the Kingdom and the UK had established with each other over the years.