Ninety express interest for Taif airport PPP

13 February 2025

Some 90 firms have expressed interest in bidding for a contract to develop and operate a new international airport in Taif in the kingdom’s Mecca province.

Saudi Arabia’s Matarat Holding, through the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP), invited firms to express interest in bidding for the contract in early December.

The international and local firms that expressed their interest are: 

  • Abdul Ali Al-Ajmi Company (local)
  • Abrdn Investcorp Infrastructure Investments (UK)
  • Aeroporti Di Roma (Italy)
  • Algihaz Holding (local)
  • Al-Jaber Contracting (local)
  • Al-Modon Al-Arabia Company (local)
  • Al-Rashid Trading & Contracting Company (local)
  • Al-Sharif Contracting & Commercial Development (local)
  • Al-Yamama Company for Trading & Contracting (local)
  • Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting Company (local)
  • Alghanim International General Trading & Contracting (Kuwait)
  • Almabani General Contractors (local)
  • Almansouryah Company General Contracting (local)
  • AlMozaini Real Estate (local)
  • Almutlaq Real Estate Investment Company (local)
  • Alternative Resources Investment 
  • Annasban Group (local)
  • Asyad Holding Company (local)
  • AVIC-KDN Airport Engineering (China)
  • Bangalore International Airport (India)
  • Binladin International (local)
  • Bouygues Batiment (France)
  • CACC International Engineering 
  • China Harbour Engineering Company (China)
  • Surbana Consultants (Singapore)
  • Buna Al-Khaleej Contracting (local)
  • China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation (China)
  • China Railway Construction Corporation (China)
  • Clavrix (US) 
  • Consolidated Contractors Company (Greece)
  • Contrax International (UAE)
  • Corporacion America Airports (Luxembourg)
  • Currie & Brown (UK)
  • DAA International (Dublin Airport Authority, Ireland)
  • Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair & Partners, Lebanon) 
  • DG Jones & Partners (UAE)
  • EB Cornerstone (UK)
  • Edgenta Arabia (Malaysia)
  • Egis Project (France)
  • Enzar Company for Operation & Maintenance (local)
  • Erada Advanced Projects (local)
  • EXP Arabia (Canada)
  • FAS Energy (local)
  • Ghesa Ingeniera Technologia (Spain)
  • GMR Airports (India)
  • Gulf Investment Corporation (Kuwait)
  • Haji Abdullah AliReza & Company (local)
  • IC Ictas (Turkiye)
  • Indiza Airport Management (South Africa)
  • Innovative Contractors for Advanced Dimensions (ICAD, local)
  • International Energy (local)
  • Kalyon Insaat (Turkiye)
  • Kolin Insaat (Turkiye)
  • Korea Airports Corporation (South Korea)
  • Koushan Real Estate Development Company (local)
  • Lamar Holding (local)
  • Limak Insaat (Turkiye)
  • Lynx Contracting Company (local)
  • Mada International Holding Company (local)
  • Makyol Insaat (local)
  • Manchester Airport Group (UK)
  • Middle East Tasks (local)
  • Modern Airports (local)
  • Mota-Engil (Portugal)
  • Mowah Company (local)
  • Munich Airport International (Germany)
  • Namaya Investment Company (local)
  • Nasser Abdullah Abu Sarhad (local)
  • National Transportation Solution Company (local)
  • Nesma & Partners (local)
  • Nesma Company (local)
  • Pini Group (Switzerland)
  • Ports Projects Management & Development Company (local)
  • Salso & Associates (Greece)
  • Samsung C&T Corporation (South Korea) 
  • Sarh Developments (local)
  • Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Company (local)
  • Saudi Binladin Group (local)
  • Saudi Building Technic Maintenance Company (local)
  • Skilled Engineers Contracting (local)
  • Sumou Real Estate Company (local)
  • Tamasuk Holding Company (local)
  • Tatweer Buildings Company (local)
  • Tav Airports Holding (Turkiye)
  • Technical Development Company for Contracting (local)
  • Terminal Yapi Ve Ticaret (Turkiye) 
  • Vantage Group (Australia)
  • Vision International Investment Company (local)
  • WCT International (Malaysia)
  • Zamil Group (local)

The new Taif International airport will be located 21 kilometres southeast of the existing Taif airport, with a capacity to accommodate 2.5 million passengers by 2030.

The clients opted for a 30-year build-transfer-operate (BTO) contract model, including the construction period.

In addition to a new airport terminal, the proposed design features a runway with a full-length parallel taxiway connecting to a single commercial apron.

The scope includes facility buildings, utility networks, car parks and access roads, as well as provisions for additional expansions to meet future subsystem requirements.

The new Taif International airport is expected to meet the projected increase in demand by 2055 and contribute to the economic development of Taif city and its surrounding areas, in line with the kingdom’s National Aviation Strategy.

It is also expected to meet the needs of Umrah pilgrims as a viable alternative within the region’s multi-airport system, which includes King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah, Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Medina and Prince Abdulmohsen Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Yanbu.

Other airport PPPs

In addition to the Taif International project, three other airports comprise the first stage of Saudi Arabia’s latest plan to modernise and privatise its international and domestic airports.

The other planned airport public-private partnership (PPP) schemes are in Abha, Hail and Qassim.

Matarat and NCP recently tendered the contract to develop and operate a new passenger terminal building and related facilities at Abha International airport. They expect to receive bids by April.

Located in Asir province, the first phase of the Abha International airport PPP project is set for completion in 2028. It will increase the airport terminal area from 10,500 square metres (sq m) to 65,000 sq m. 

The contract scope includes a new rapid-exit taxiway on the current runway, a new apron to serve the new terminal, access roads to the new terminal building and a new car park area. The scope also includes support facilities such as an electrical substation expansion and a new sewage treatment plant.

The transaction advisory team for the client on the Abha airport PPP scheme comprises UK-headquartered Deloitte and Ashurst as financial and legal advisers, respectively, and ALG as technical adviser.

Previous tenders

The Taif, Hail and Qassim airport schemes were previously tendered and awarded as PPP projects using a BTO model.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) awarded the contracts to develop four airport PPP projects to two separate consortiums in 2017.

A team of Tukey’s TAV Airports and the local Al-Rajhi Holding Group won the 30-year concession agreement to build, transfer and operate airport passenger terminals in Yanbu, Qassim and Hail.

A second team, comprising Lebanon’s Consolidated Contractors Company, Germany’s Munich Airport International and local firm Asyad Group, won the BTO contract to develop Taif International airport.

However, these projects stalled following the restructuring of the kingdom’s aviation sector.

Saudi Arabia has already privatised airports, including the $1.2bn Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International airport in Medina, which was developed as a PPP and opened in 2015.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13391497/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Related Articles
  • Aramco receives interest for major gas processing plant

    30 September 2026

     

    Saudi Aramco has received expressions of interest from contractors to participate in the main tendering exercise for a project to expand the Alhada gas processing plant, located about 85 kilometres northwest of Jubail in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

    The Alhada gas processing plant expansion is critical to Aramco’s goal of increasing gas production capacity by 80% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline.

    Aramco issued a solicitation of interest document for the main tendering exercise in early September, with contractors submitting responses by 17 September, sources told MEED.

    The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope of work has been divided into three main packages, sources said.

    The first EPC package relates to the main gas treatment facilities, primarily three processing trains, along with:

    • Three acid gas removal units
    • Triethylene glycol (TEG) dehydration unit
    • Two high-pressure and two low-pressure flares
    • Two flare gas recovery units
    • Two T&l flares
    • Two burn pits
    • A digital twin

    The acid gas removal units will treat sour gas by removing hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide to produce sales gas, as well as acid-gas feed for the downstream acid gas enrichment unit and sulphur recovery unit.

    The acid gas removal units will also process gas from the flare gas recovery units through a dedicated amine contactor to meet specifications for use as fuel gas. The TEG dehydration unit will then remove water from the treated gas to meet sales-gas specifications.

    The project’s second EPC package covers the sulphur recovery units. The third package involves inlet channels for monoethylene glycol, as well as common utilities and supporting structures.

    ALSO READ: Contractors express interest in sixth Jafurah expansion phase
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20127671/main4900.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Libya refinery expected to be worth more than $600m

    30 September 2026

     

    The main contract for Libya’s planned South Refinery project is expected to be worth more than $600m, according to industry sources.

    The project, located in Ubari in southern Libya, has gained momentum over the past year. The main contract is expected to be procured under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.

    In March, US-based engineering company KBR was awarded a contract by Zallaf Exploration, Production & Refining of Oil & Gas Company to provide project management and technical services for the project.

    Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide contract management, project management and supporting technical services throughout the project’s EPC phases.

    The EPC work is expected to take 50 months, and the facility will be designed to process 30,000 barrels a day (b/d) of crude oil.

    The refinery is expected to produce:

    • Propane and butane for domestic and industrial uses
    • Gasoline
    • Kerosene
    • Diesel
    • Fuel oil

    In March, KBR said that the project was aligned with its “long-standing commitment to advancing vital oil and gas infrastructure in Libya”.

    Libya currently operates five main refineries with a combined nameplate capacity of 380,000 b/d, but actual throughput is closer to 180,000 b/d due to poor maintenance and damage from military clashes.

    In addition to the South Refinery project, Libya also plans to upgrade the Zawiya refinery and carry out projects at the Serir, Brega, Tobruk and Ras Lanuf refineries.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20124329/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Joint venture wins $230m Ras El-Hekma buildings

    30 September 2026

    A joint venture of UK-based Innovo Build and Egypt’s Redcon Construction has won a contract worth about E£12bn ($230m) to carry out infrastructure and construction works for the DP03 East package of the Wadi Yemm development at Ras El-Hekma on Egypt’s North Coast.

    Wadi Yemm is being developed by the UAE’s Modon Development as the first phase of its Ras El-Hekma masterplan, which will comprise 17 planned districts.

    DP03 East has a built-up area of 323,000 square metres and is scheduled for completion within 21 months.

    The scope of work includes more than 660 residential units – comprising standalone villas and townhouses – as well as public service areas, lakes, a commercial mall, landscaping and roadworks.

    The delivery of units at Wadi Yemm is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2029.

    Ras El-Hekma is located on a spur of land on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean coast, about 240 kilometres west of Alexandria.

    Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ appointed Modon Holding as master developer for the Ras El-Hekma project in 2024. Modon will oversee the overall development, which covers more than 170 million square metres (sq m).

    Modon will develop the first phase, covering 50 million sq m. The remaining 120 million sq m will be developed in partnership with private developers, under the supervision of the recently established ADQ subsidiary Ras El-Hekma Urban Development Project Company and Modon.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20123189/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Hassan Allam wins $1bn Cairo mixed-use project deal

    30 September 2026

    Grova Developments, the real estate development arm of Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding, has awarded Hassan Allam Construction a $1bn contract to deliver the Grova Westfields project in West Cairo.

    Hassan Allam Construction’s scope of work includes a 150-key five-star hotel, branded residences, luxury villas and apartments, as well as infrastructure and landscaping works.

    The project spans about 1.2 million square metres and is being developed in partnership with the Egyptian Kuwaiti Company for Real Estate Development.

    Broadway Malyan has been appointed to lead the master planning and architectural design.

    In October last year, Hassan Allam Construction announced that it had won a $550m contract to build another mixed-use development spanning more than 128 hectares in New Cairo.

    That development comprises villas, townhouses, commercial and office space, mixed-use buildings, infrastructure and other associated facilities.

    Hassan Allam Properties is co-developing the project with Grova Developments.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20123048/main.jpeg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Neom tenders Oxagon freight rail design

    30 September 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Neom has tendered a contract to prepare a concept design, feasibility study and route-alignment studies for a freight rail network connecting to the Port of Neom at Oxagon.

    Neom issued the tender last week, with a submission deadline of 29 October.

    Consultants expressed interest in the contract on 16 September, as MEED previously reported.

    The estimated 400-kilometre (km)-plus rail line is expected to connect the Port of Neom with Saudi Arabia Railways’ (SAR) North-South Railway at the Al-Baseeta junction.

    SAR’s North-South Railway is a 2,750km network built primarily to move minerals from mines in the north of the kingdom to industrial and export hubs on the Gulf coast. Its core route links the Al-Jalamid and Baitha phosphate and bauxite mines to Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam, with branch lines to Riyadh and to the Jordanian border at Al-Haditha.

    Al-Baseeta junction, where Oxagon’s proposed line would connect, sits on this network in Al-Jawf province, in the northwest of the country. The railway also carries passengers between Riyadh and Qurayyat, and has transported commercial freight such as sulphur and phosphoric acid.

    The Port of Neom currently has no rail link to the rest of Saudi Arabia, meaning cargo landing there depends on road transport or a further sea leg to reach Riyadh, the Gulf coast or export markets beyond.

    Connecting to the North-South network at Al-Baseeta would give the port direct rail access to the kingdom’s interior and, via existing branch lines, to Jordan and the Gulf coast industrial cluster around Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam.

    The proposed link would also give SAR’s network a new outlet to the Red Sea. To date, the North-South Railway has focused on Gulf coast export points, but a connection to Oxagon would provide a second maritime gateway on the opposite coast, allowing mineral and freight traffic from the north of the kingdom to reach either coastline.

    The latest development follows Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) naming Neom as one of six strategic ecosystems in its 2026-30 strategy.

    This backing comes as Neom’s operational focus appears to be evolving in response to shifting regional dynamics and global economic conditions. For example, on 15 April, Neom posted on its official X account about a new Europe-Egypt-Neom-GCC corridor, describing it as a faster route for time-sensitive goods.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20122376/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal