Government signs contracts to build, operate and transfer airports

JEDDAH: Minister of Transport Sulaiman Al-Hamdan on Thursday signed a number of contracts with local and international companies to develop five airports.

These include a contract to operate the new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, operation of which had already been awarded to Singapore-based Changi Airports International (CAI) for a 20-year period.

The contract to develop and operate the new Taif International Airport was signed with Asyad Holding Group in collaboration with Consolidated Contractors Co. and Munich Airport.

The contracts to operate Qassim’s Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz Airport, Hail International Airport and Yanbu’s Prince Abdul Mohsin bin Abdul Aziz Airport were signed with the consortium of Turkish TAV Airports Holding Co. and Al-Rajhi Holding Group.

The minister, who is also the chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the signing of these contracts comes within GACA’s strategy of expanding the private sector’s role in airport projects and increasing investment opportunities to provide the best services to passengers with the international standards.

These partnerships will contribute toward achieving GACA’s goal of improving the quality of services provided at airports, he said, stressing the importance of the private sector in taking part in the progress and achieving the goals of Vision 2030.

GACA’s Deputy Chairman for Airports Eng Tariq bin Othman Al-Abduljabbar said the contracts for the Taif, Qassim, Yanbu and Hail airports are based on a buildoperate-transfer BOT basis. These new airports are respectively estimated to rweceive 5.8 million, 5.5 million, 4 million and 3.7 million passengers per year.