Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will announce the winning consortium for the privatisation of Abha Airport within three months, according to a news report.

Over 100 companies have submitted bids to operate and manage the airport, Argaam, an Arab financial website, reported, quoting GACA President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej.
 
The authority aims to boost Abha Airport’s capacity from 1.5 million to 13 million passengers in three phases, the report said.

In December 2024, the Saudi Civil Aviation Holding Company (Matarat) had issued a Request for proposal (RFP) to the pre-qualified bidders for the privatisation, expansion, and improvement of the New Abha International Airport Project.

The pre-qualified bidders are:

India’s GMR Airports Limited

Mada TAV: Consortium of Turkish group MADA Holding International and TAV Havalimanlari Holding.

Vision Asyad daa: Consortium of Vision International Investment and Asyad Holding and daa International 

Touwaik Alliance: Consortium of Skilled Engineers Contracting, Limak Insaat Sanayi Ve Ticaret, Incheon International Airport Corporation, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners) and Obermeyer Middle East GmbH

The winning bidder will complete the expansion work by 2028, according to Matarat.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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