Arabia Saudi's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced that the development and operation of Taif, Qassim and Hail airports will be entrusted to consortiums of national and global companies.

On one hand, the development and operation of the Taif Airport will be entrusted to a consortium of ASIAD, Consolidated Contractors Company, and Flughafen München GmbH.

On the other hand, Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al Rajhi Charitable Foundation and Turkey’s TAV Airports would be partnering up to develop and operate airports in Qassim and Hail.

These partnerships will be based on the Build-Transfer-Operate business model.

Speaking about the Authority’s Airport Sector and the responsibilities it has to handle, Tariq Abduljabbar, Deputy to the President of the GACA, said: 

"The sector not only has full supervision responsibilities of all of the Kingdom’s 27 airports, but also is concerned with building new ones, expanding existing airports, and the development and maintenance of airport facilities. The sector also readies locations for investors, and is tasked with business development to boost revenue."

"Standards used to determine ideal locations for airports include comparisons among population densities in urban and rural areas in a given zone, and analyses of businesses and business sectors that are active in that zone, as well as its geographic features, and operational concerns in terms of navigation and air safety."