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Firms submit King Salman airport project prequalifications Administrator8 July 2026
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Saudi Arabia’s King Salman International Airport Development Company (KSIADC) received prequalification statements on 1 July from contractors for two new packages at King Salman International airport (KSIA) in Riyadh.
These include the construction of a permanent East-West corridor and landside access roads serving the North and South terminals.
The scope covers the construction of roads, bridges and tunnels.
The client is expected to float the tenders soon.
The latest development follows KSIADC's selection of three groups to deliver the Terminal 6 apron, taxiways and other airfield infrastructure at KSIA.
KSIADC, which is backed by Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund, will initially deliver the project on an early contractor involvement basis.
In March, MEED exclusively reported that KSIADC had selected three groups for the construction of Terminal 6.
In November last year, MEED reported that KSIADC was targeting mid-2026 to award the contract for the construction of Terminal 6.
MEED reported in May 2025 that US firm Bechtel Corporation had been appointed as the delivery partner for the terminals at KSIA.
According to local media reports, KSIADC’s acting CEO, Marco Mejia, said the project developer has completed the project’s masterplan.
The reports added that Terminal 6 will boost the airport’s capacity by 40 million passengers.
The project is expected to be delivered before the start of Expo 2030 Riyadh.
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WEBINAR: Saudi Giga Projects: Market Update for Q3 2026 Administrator8 July 2026
Webinar: Saudi Giga Projects: Market Update for Q3 2026
Tuesday 21 July 2026 | 11:00 AM GST | Register now
Agenda:
- Saudi projects market outlook and giga projects update
- 2026 contract awards, project activity and market performance
- Giga project reprioritisation, funding allocation and delivery progress
- Key project announcements, milestones and market developments to watch
- Major contracts awarded across construction, infrastructure and utilities
- Upcoming tenders and contract award opportunities over the next 6–12 months
- Geopolitical risks and their impact on project execution and investment
- Progress across NEOM, The Red Sea, Diriyah, Qiddiya and New Murabba
- Major non-giga project opportunities and growth sectors across Saudi Arabia
- Short-, medium- and long-term outlook for the Saudi projects market
- Audience Q&A
Hosted by: Yasir Iqbal, MEED's construction editor
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Genel Energy buys Egypt-focused oil company for $360m Administrator8 July 2026
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UK-listed Genel Energy has agreed to acquire Egypt-focused Capricorn Energy in a $360m all-cash deal.
Genel said the acquisition will combine its Kurdistan production base with Capricorn’s portfolio of Egyptian oil and gas assets.
The company also said the deal will allow it to obtain production in a country with a “well-established regulatory regime, stable contracts and attractive fiscal terms”.
Several approvals are still required before the acquisition can be finalised.
In a statement, Genel said: “Genel’s strategy is to build a business with resilient diversified cash flows that deliver sustainable value to shareholders.
“The Genel board and Genel management are resolute in their belief that this can best be achieved through strategic acquisitions, which add substantial high-quality producing assets to its existing portfolio.”
Genel’s existing oil and gas assets include its 25% non-operated working interest in the Tawke PSC in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The company said this asset generated working interest production averaging 17,520 barrels a day (b/d) of oil in 2025 and had operating costs of around $4 a barrel.
The combined group is expected to hold reserves of 117 million barrels of oil equivalent and production of 41,003 b/d.
Capricorn is headquartered in Edinburgh and has been listed on the London Stock Exchange for more than 30 years.
Its core operations are in Egypt’s Western Desert region, where it holds onshore development and production assets.
In May 2025, Capricorn agreed with Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation to consolidate eight of its 50:50 jointly owned concessions into a single integrated licence with enhanced commercial terms. Capricorn announced in March 2026 that it had received formal parliamentary ratification of the agreement.
The deal has been announced at a time when Genel is seeing frequent disruption to operations at its assets in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Production was temporarily suspended at the Tawke field in February after the US and Israel attacked Iran, increasing security concerns in the wider region.
While the security situation is understood to have improved in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and many oil companies have resumed operations, there are now concerns that the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline could be shut due to an agreement between the two countries expiring later this month.
If the pipeline does stop operations, it will negatively impact Genel as it is the main route through which the company’s Iraqi oil is exported.
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Axens signs Egypt refining deal Administrator8 July 2026
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France’s Axens has signed a long-term agreement with the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) that covers product supply, digital transformation and refinery performance optimisation.
ERC operates Egypt’s $4.4bn Mostorod refinery, which was inaugurated in September 2020.
In a statement about the deal, Axens said that it will “leverage its comprehensive and integrated portfolio of technologies, equipment, catalysts and services to support ERC’s operational, economic and sustainability objectives”.
It added: “With its end-to-end expertise across the entire refining value chain, Axens is uniquely positioned to support ERC from early-stage project studies through engineering, unit start-up, operational optimisation and long-term technical follow-up.
“This fully integrated approach will help ensure reliability, operational excellence and environmental performance across the refinery’s life cycle.”
Quentin Debuisschert, the chief executive and chairman of Axens, said: “This long-term agreement marks an important milestone in the relationship between Axens and ERC.
“It reflects our ability to support customers beyond technology licensing by delivering a fully integrated offering that combines all process and catalyst technologies a modern refinery needs, services, digital solutions, operational expertise and training.
“We are committed to supporting ERC’s ambitions in operational excellence, digital transformation and sustainability while helping maximise the long-term value and competitiveness of its assets.
“We are proud and motivated to continue supporting ERC in ensuring the economic and operational success of its refinery."
Mohamed Saad, the president of ERC, said: “ERC values its strong partnership with Axens and the confidence this agreement brings for the future.
"This collaboration will help us continue enhancing refinery performance, maximising operational efficiency and delivering high-quality products to support Egypt’s energy needs.”
The Mostorod refinery is located 10 kilometres north of Cairo and has the capacity to produce about 4.7 million tonnes of petroleum products annually.
It sells all of its output directly to the national oil company Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation under a 25-year agreement.
When the refinery was brought online and reached full capacity, it boosted Egypt’s capacity to produce diesel by 30% and increased gasoline production by 15%.
Operations started at the refinery in November 2019.
Qatar Petroleum is a stakeholder in the project. It owns 38.1% of the Arabian Refinery Company, which in turn owns 66.6% of ERC.
The Mostorod refinery mainly produces Euro 5 refined products, including diesel and jet fuel, which are intended for consumption primarily in Cairo and surrounding areas.
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Gulftainer commits to $2bn expansion plan Administrator8 July 2026
Gulftainer has unveiled a $2bn strategy to transform from a ports and terminals operator into an integrated global trade infrastructure company, a long-horizon commitment made at a port that was struck three months ago and in a region where the shipping lanes it depends on are under renewed attack.
The strategy restructures the company around four platforms: container terminals and maritime gateways, inland logistics and multimodal transport, logistics parks and industrial ecosystems, and regional maritime services connecting strategic trade corridors.
At the centre of the strategy is Khorfakkan Port, the UAE's deepwater gateway on the Gulf of Oman. Expansion works will raise annual handling capacity from 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 5 million TEUs, a 43% uplift, with a long-term master plan targeting more than 10 million TEUs. Planned integration with Etihad Rail will turn the port into a fully multimodal gateway linking sea, road and rail.
The commitment comes despite the port's recent exposure to the conflict in the region. On 5 April, a fire broke out at Khorfakkan after debris fell on the facility following the interception of an unidentified object. In a post on X, the Sharjah media office said the incident injured four people, one Nepalese national seriously and three Pakistani nationals with minor to moderate injuries. The strait through which Khorfakkan-bound traffic passes has come under further attack in recent days, with merchant vessels struck near the Strait of Hormuz.
Inland, Al-Dhaid Logistics Park and Sajaa Logistics Park will together provide 2.3 million TEUs of annual inland capacity, extending Gulftainer's reach.
The company positions itself as a key enabler of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and the UAE's role in China's Belt and Road Initiative, linking ports, shipping services, inland logistics networks and digital platforms across major global trade routes. The transformation follows nearly five decades of operation and is being implemented under the New Gulftainer strategy.
Gulftainer's partnership with the Sharjah Ports, Customs & Free Zones Authority underpins the Khorfakkan expansion. The port sits within an integrated maritime network spanning both the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, offering shippers several routing options across the two waterways.
READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFStress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AIRPORTS: Dubai and Riyadh reaffirm airport ambitions> INDUSTRY REPORT: Dubai eyes tourism sector recovery> DATA CENTRES: Big Tech falls short on data centre promise> LEADERSHIP: Aramco’s citizen developers accelerate digital changeTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17588407/main.jpg -
Acwa wins Saudi green hydrogen export rights Administrator7 July 2026
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Saudi utility developer Acwa Power has received an exclusive government mandate to export green hydrogen and its derivatives produced in the kingdom to international markets, positioning the company at the centre of Saudi Arabia's strategy to become a global clean energy exporter.
The exclusivity covers the export of green ammonia, green methanol, green methane and synthetic fuels manufactured using green hydrogen, according to a bourse filing. The approval supports the kingdom's objective of establishing itself as a leader in clean energy exports and accelerating the development of a diversified, low-carbon economy under Vision 2030.
Beyond hydrogen, the government has commissioned the company to develop projects for the production, transmission and export of electricity generated from renewable sources. Those power exports are targeted at European markets and neighbouring Arab nations, supporting regional energy security while opening a new revenue stream for the kingdom.
The mandate is expected to support the implementation of several export agreements the company has already signed. In July 2025, Acwa Power concluded a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe under the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. In February, it signed a memorandum for a green ammonia corridor with German partners including EnBW Energie Baden-Wurttemberg.
The company is already the developer behind the kingdom's two flagship green hydrogen schemes. It co-develops the $8.4bn Neom Green Hydrogen Company, a joint venture with Air Products and Neom that is due to begin commercial operations in 2026 and will produce up to 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia a year. It is also developing the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub with EnBW, an integrated facility with captive renewable generation, desalination, electrolysis and an export terminal, targeted for commercial operations by 2030.
Acwa Power, which is majority owned by Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund, holds a portfolio spanning renewable energy, green hydrogen, desalination and energy infrastructure in 15 countries.
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Diriyah awards $105m Heroes’ Park contract Administrator7 July 2026
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Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company has awarded a SR393m ($105m) contract for the main construction works on Heroes' Park, located in the Diriyah Two masterplanned development.
The contract was awarded to Riyadh-based construction firm Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Company (Satco).
Heroes' Park will serve as a public space, covering an area of about 105,471 square metres (sq m).
It is expected to host public gatherings, with a capacity of about 35,000 people.
MEED understands that the contract was tendered in November last year.
Diriyah Company's group CEO Jerry Inzerillo said: “This new partnership with Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Company marks another important milestone in our commitment to delivering outstanding public spaces and lifestyle infrastructure across Diriyah. When completed, this iconic park will become a vibrant gathering place for tens of thousands of residents and visitors, offering an immersive, open-air environment designed to promote wellbeing, enhance quality of life and create meaningful experiences.”
Satco CEO Mohammed Almaghlouth said: “We are honoured to have been entrusted with the delivery of the iconic park. Drawing on Satco's proven track record in delivering complex projects across the kingdom, and through close collaboration with Diriyah Company, we look forward to delivering this landmark project to the highest standards, contributing to Diriyah's ambitious development programme and the goals of Vision 2030."
Contract awards
The latest award follows the award by Diriyah Company of a SR1.5bn ($400m) contract to UCC Saudi, the local branch of Qatar’s UCC Holding, at Diriyah Square in the Diriyah Two area.
The scope includes package four at Diriyah Square, covering mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) and finishing works for assets with a built-up area of about 110,000 sq m.
In June, Diriyah Company awarded a SR2.7bn ($727m) contract for the main construction works on the development’s Waldorf Astoria superblock to a joint venture of Hassan Allam Construction Saudi and UCC Saudi.
In May, Diriyah Company awarded a SR730m ($195m) construction contract for civic quarter buildings within the Diriyah development to local contractor Al-Rashid Trading & Contracting Company.
Diriyah also announced a SR1.84bn ($490m) construction contract in April to build the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art within the Diriyah development. The contract was awarded to a consortium of Egyptian contractor Hassan Allam Construction Saudi and Saudi Arabia’s Albawani.
In March, Diriyah Company awarded an estimated SR2.5bn ($666m) contract to build the Pendry superblock in the Diriyah Gate 2 (DG2) area.
The Pendry superblock includes the construction of the Pendry Hotel, in addition to residential and commercial assets. The package will cover 75,365 sq m and is located in the northwestern district of the DG2 area.
The previous month, Diriyah Company also awarded a SR717m ($192m) contract for the construction of the One Hotel, located in the Diriyah Two area of the masterplan, with a gross floor area of more than 31,000 sq m.
The Diriyah masterplan envisages the city as a cultural and lifestyle tourism destination. Located northwest of Riyadh’s city centre, it will cover 14 square kilometres and combine 300 years of history, culture and heritage with hospitality facilities.
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Saudi Arabia eyes investors for $136m ferris wheel project Administrator7 July 2026
Saudi Arabia is seeking investors to fund a SR511m ($136m) ferris wheel project, known as the Hijaz Eye.
The project will be located in Medina and will cover an area of more than 33,000 square metres (sq m).
According to information listed on the Invest Saudi platform, a database of about 2,200 state investment opportunities, the project is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy, offering an internal rate of return (IRR) of over 25%, with a payback period of seven years.
The tender prospectus does not disclose the ferris wheel's height.
The pitch to investors describes it as "the best destination to get a bird's eye view of the city", and frames it as an attraction aimed at pilgrims, with the project designed to "enrich the experience of pilgrims" and address a "growing need to increase cultural communication among pilgrims".
The Hijaz Eye project is part of a broader initiative to establish Saudi Arabia as a leading tourism hub in the Middle East, and reflects Riyadh's growing push to lean on private capital, rather than public financing, for large-scale tourism infrastructure.
Ain Dubai parallels
The Hijaz Eye would not be the first giant observation wheel to be built in the region. The UAE's Ain Dubai, on Bluewaters Island, is currently the world's tallest observation wheel, standing 250 metres high – nearly twice the height of the London Eye.
It is designed to carry up to 1,750 visitors in 48 air-conditioned cabins.
Ain Dubai's budget was originally estimated at about $272m. The attraction opened in October 2021, coinciding with Expo 2020 Dubai.
The project used about 9,000 tonnes of steel, more than was used in the construction of the Eiffel Tower, and required some of the world's largest cranes to lift its 1,805-tonne hub and spindle assembly, which is comparable in weight to four Airbus A380 aircraft.
Despite its scale, Ain Dubai's post-opening record has been uneven. The attraction has closed and reopened several times since its debut, including a widely publicised reopening in December 2024.
For the Hijaz Eye, the experience of Ain Dubai underlines a message that operational reliability will be central to whether the project can deliver on its projected 25%-plus IRR.
Project positioning
The Hijaz Eye is being positioned as an anchor for a specific strategic gap, which includes extending the time and spending of religious visitors to Medina beyond prayer and pilgrimage.
Domestic and religious tourism sit at the core of the kingdom's Vision 2030 strategy, and the numbers underline why Medina, rather than a leisure hub like Riyadh or Jeddah, is a logical testing ground for private-capital tourism infrastructure.
In 2025, Saudi Arabia's Tourism Ministry recorded 14 million overseas visitors that visited the kingdom for religious purposes, roughly twice the number of leisure travellers and seven times that of business travellers.
A further 14 million domestic tourists travelled for religious purposes, of which 6.5 million visited Medina specifically.
Image credit: www.cranebriefing.com
READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFStress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AIRPORTS: Dubai and Riyadh reaffirm airport ambitions> INDUSTRY REPORT: Dubai eyes tourism sector recovery> DATA CENTRES: Big Tech falls short on data centre promise> LEADERSHIP: Aramco’s citizen developers accelerate digital changeTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17576184/main.jpg -
Worley announces Aramco project management consultancy deal Administrator7 July 2026
Australian engineering firm Worley has announced it has been awarded a long-term agreement (LTA) by Saudi Aramco to support its projects within Saudi Arabia, mainly by providing project management consultancy (PMC) services.
The five-year agreement is intended to support Aramco’s extensive capital programme – one of the largest sources of project investment globally, across the energy, chemicals and resources sectors, Worley said in a statement.
Under the LTA, Worley will provide PMC services, including engineering and design, project development studies, detailed engineering, procurement support, project and construction management and technical expertise. It will also support capability building for local talent in Saudi Arabia.
Worley was one of 11 local and foreign engineering firms selected by Aramco to create a new pool of PMC service providers, MEED reported in May.
The Saudi energy giant signed LTAs with several companies for the PMC service providers pool at a ceremony at its Dhahran headquarters on 30 April. The agreements have a duration of five years, with an option to extend for a further three years. These companies were:
- Engineers India (India)
- Fluor (US)
- IDOM (Spain)
- KBR (US)
- Kent (UAE)
- Sinopec (China) / Sinopec Nanjing Engineering Company (China)
- SNC Lavalin Fayez Engineering (Saudi Arabia) + McDermott (US)
- Technip Energies (France)
- Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain) / TR Saudia (local branch)
- Wood (UAE)
- Worley (Australia)
“Importantly, this agreement supports Aramco to ensure critical infrastructure for ongoing energy, chemicals and resources supply for the domestic market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as global markets,” Sydney-headquartered Worley said in a statement.
Services will be delivered through Worley’s offices in Saudi Arabia and the UK, with support from global offices including the Global Integrated Delivery team.
“The agreement requires Worley to leverage its digital capabilities, including artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, digital twins, robotics and automation, digital scanning, and smart energy solutions, to improve engineering delivery efficiency in compliance with Aramco’s engineering and information security standards,” the Australian Securities Exchange-listed company added.
Pool of brownfield EPC contractors
In addition to selecting firms for its PMC services pool, Aramco also created a group of brownfield engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.
Aramco awarded LTAs to the following 18 contractors for the brownfield EPC services at the same ceremony in Dhahran on 30 April:
- Abdulhasan Group (Saudi Arabia)
- Archirodon (Greece)
- Bin Quraya (Saudi Arabia)
- China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (China)
- Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (Egypt)
- Engineering Procurement & Project Management (Tunisia)
- Gas Arabian Services (Saudi Arabia)
- GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea) / GS Construction Arabia (local branch)
- Kalpataru Projects International (India)
- Kent (UAE)
- Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
- M R Al-Khathlan Company for Contracting (Saudi Arabia)
- Max Streicher (Germany/Italy)
- National Basics Company (Saudi Arabia)
- New Horizons Contracting & Maintenance Company (Saudi Arabia)
- Sinopec (China) / Sinopec Nanjing Engineering Company (China)
- Technip Energies (France)
- Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain) / TR Saudia (local branch)
The scope of services covered under the LTA for brownfield EPC contractors includes the following activities across the kingdom’s Eastern Province and Shaybah areas:
- Onshore oil/gas/water well tie-ins and hookups
- Miscellaneous and capital projects
- Site preparation
- Power, communication, control, and security projects including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (Scada) systems and remote terminal units (RTUs)
- Project management, engineering, fabrication, coating, procurement, material management and direct construction services
- Testing, pre-commissioning, commissioning and mechanical completion
- Camp and office construction, operations and maintenance
- Modifications, improvements and upgrades to existing onshore facilities
- Fencing and general onshore civil and structural works
The LTAs for brownfield EPC works span seven geographical zones:
- Northern Area Zone NA-1: Includes plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Manifa, Safaniyah, Wasit, Abu Hadriyah, Fadhili and Khursaniyah.
- Northern Area Zone NA-2: Encompasses plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Berri, Abu Ali Island and Qatif.
- Southern Area Zone SA-1: Covers plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Dammam, Abqaiq, Aindar, Shedgum and Farzan.
- Southern Area Zone SA-2: Comprises plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Haradh and Harmaliyah.
- Southern Area Zone SA-3: Spans plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Khurais/Mazalij/Abu Zifan, Central Arabia/Hawtah/Layl, and Nuayyim.
- Southern Area Zone SA-4: Incorporates plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Hawiyah and Uthmaniyah.
- Shaybah Area Zone SHYB-1: Focuses on plants, pipelines, wells and miscellaneous projects in Shaybah.
In addition to the newly created LTA pools for PMC services and brownfield EPC works – and excluding the GES+ engineering group – Aramco maintains two LTA contractor groupings for offshore and onshore oil and gas capital projects.
READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFStress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AIRPORTS: Dubai and Riyadh reaffirm airport ambitions> INDUSTRY REPORT: Dubai eyes tourism sector recovery> DATA CENTRES: Big Tech falls short on data centre promise> LEADERSHIP: Aramco’s citizen developers accelerate digital changeTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17576189/main4243.jpg -
Saudi Arabia sets July deadline for Taif International airport Administrator7 July 2026
Saudi Arabia’s Matarat Holding, in collaboration with the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP), has set a deadline of 24 July for a contract to develop the new Taif International airport project in Mecca Province.
The client has opted for a 30-year build-transfer-operate (BTO) contract model, including the construction period.
In January, MEED reported that four consortiums and one standalone company had been prequalified to proceed to the next stage of the bidding process.
These were:
- Kalyon Insaat / AlBawani (Turkiye/local)
- Mada International Holding / TAV Airports (local/Turkiye)
- Tamasuk / Bengaluru International Airport (local/India)
- Vision Invest / Asyad / DAA International (local/local/Ireland)
- GMR Airports (India)
The new Taif International airport will be located 21 kilometres southeast of the existing Taif airport and will have a capacity of 2.5 million passengers by 2030.
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 airport is expected to meet the projected increase in demand by 2055 and contribute to the economic development of the city of Taif 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 an 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.
Previous tenders
The Taif, Hail and Qassim airport schemes were previously tendered and awarded as public-private partnership (PPP) projects using the 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 Turkiye’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.
READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFStress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AIRPORTS: Dubai and Riyadh reaffirm airport ambitions> INDUSTRY REPORT: Dubai eyes tourism sector recovery> DATA CENTRES: Big Tech falls short on data centre promise> LEADERSHIP: Aramco’s citizen developers accelerate digital changeTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17574264/main2939.jpg