Saudi Arabia’s government is building on its plans to enhance private involvement in the kingdom’s airports, offering a concession for the development of Abha airport.
Abha is located in the Asir region, which lies in the southwest of the country.
Saudi Arabia’s airports holding company Matarat says the concession is being offered in co-operation with the National Center for Privatization.
It will take the form of a 30-year build-transfer-operate agreement, at the centre of which is a new terminal capable of handling 13 million annual passengers, compared with the current capacity for 1.5 million.
This terminal will be scheduled to open by 2028, states Matarat.
The government is seeking expressions of interest in the Abha airport project, which it says will be a distinctive landmark, by 31 January.
Infrastructure to be developed under the concession includes a new apron, rapid-exit taxiway for the runway, access roads, and other related facilities.
Civil aviation regulators recently unveiled economic reforms intended to support privatisation, public-private co-operation, and external investment in the aviation sector.
The Asir regional development authority says the new Abha airport will be an “enabler” of the ‘Qimam and Shem’ initiative to turn the area into a year-round tourism destination.
Saudi Arabia’s government is pursuing an ambitious plan, Vision 2030, which includes sweeping measures to improve the air transport system to bring more tourists and travellers to the kingdom.
