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 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. (ICE RIYADH)

Fonte notizia: Meed