We’re done experimenting — time for getting on with the plans for privatizing the Kingdom’s airports. The General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) is pushing forward with a national privatization program modeled after the success at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.

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The Abha International Airport concession will be awarded within three month, Gaca President Abdulaziz Al Duailej confirmed on Tuesday. The winner will finance and build the infrastructure to take the airport’s capacity from 1.5 mn to 13 mn passengers over three phases.

  • Some 100 companies are eyeing the 30-year build-transfer-operate (BTO) concession, Al Duailej said.

Abha is only the beginning: Taif, Qassim, and Hail airports are next in line.

The blueprint

The Tibah Consortium (Al Rajhi Holding + Turkey’s TAV Airports) provided the proof of concept that privately run local airports are good for business. Capacity at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport has tripled since Tibah took over operations in 2012, rising from under 3 mn to 9.4 mn passengers in 2023. Expansion followed, with Tibah pledging USD 275 mn in March last year to raise capacity to 18 mn. It also extended its 25-year concession to 2041.

What’s in it for Gaca? Tibah pays the regulator 54.5% of gross revenues — amounting to an estimated USD 7 bn during the concession.

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