Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej said that GACA is currently working on a major privatization project in the airport sector, with the private sector playing a central role. He made the remarks while attending a dialogue session at the Supply Chain and Logistics Conference 2025 in Riyadh on Tuesday.

“The aviation sector was among the first sectors to enter the privatization and partnership phase with the private sector, and has achieved successful models at the regional level,” he said.

Al-Duailej said that the privatization project begins with Abha International Airport, where procedures were initiated over a year ago, including inviting bids and receiving more than 100 applications from local and international companies interested in participating in the airport's development and operation.

He revealed that the project aims to increase Abha Airport's capacity from 1.5 million to 13 million passengers in three phases, with the winning consortium expected to be announced within approximately three months. He emphasized that the strong interest from operators, financiers, investors, and contractors reflects the private sector's confidence in privatization opportunities, noting that privatization projects will follow, including those for Taif, Qassim, and Hail airports.

Al-Duailej said that Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah represents the first true public-private partnership project in the Middle East. Inaugurated in 2016, its initial capacity was less than 3 million passengers annually, and it was managed by GACA. Design, construction, financing, and operation were then entrusted to the private sector, which contributed to increasing its capacity to 8.5 million passengers.

The GACA chief noted that a new agreement was signed a year ago to increase the airport's capacity to 18 million passengers, extending the concession for an additional 30 years with the same investor. He emphasized that this partnership proved its strength during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the aviation sector being the most affected globally, as the project continued with the support of government agencies and the state's commitment to lenders and financiers.

In his speech, Deputy Minister of Transport and Logistics Rumaih Al-Rumaih said that the National Transport and Logistics Strategy has contributed to stimulating substantial private sector investments, exceeding SR200 billion across various modes of transport, including airports, seaports, roads, railways, and logistics services.

Al-Rumaih said that local content in the transport and logistics sector has increased from approximately 30 percent to 47 percent at present, with a target of reaching 60 percent by 2030. He noted that this growth has encompassed both investments and employment opportunities, with more than 220,000 jobs created in the last three years.

He added that the contribution of the transport and logistics sector to the GDP doubled between 2019 and 2024. He emphasized that the e-commerce sector is experiencing growth of between 30 percent and 40 percent, with more than 200 million parcels transported annually and the number of daily orders exceeding one million, totaling over 400 million orders annually.

Al-Rumaih said that the strategic projects, including the high-speed train project between the Kingdom and Qatar, in addition to linking Riyadh, Hofuf and Dammam, would contribute to enhancing the integration of the transport system and supporting the objectives of transforming the Kingdom into a global logistics platform.