Riyadh, Oct 28: Saudi Arabia will privatise its international and local airports but keep security duties at the facilities in state hands, Civil Aviation chief Abdullah Rahimi said in remarks published today. "The Civil Aviation Authority will seek to achieve broad private sector participation in running local and international airports by privatising them, except for security operations," he told the daily Al-Medina.
Rahimi said his authority was already privatising some airport services, but he did not give a timeframe for completion of the process.
He said Defence and Aviation Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz had recently signed deals with five Saudi firms worth 638 million Riyals to operate regional and local airports for three years.
The vast kingdom has around 25 airports, including three international airports: King Khaled in Riyadh, King Abdul Aziz in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, and King Fahd in Dammam in the oil-rich eastern province.
Rahimi said a new regional airport would be built in Al-Ala near the Muslim holy city of Medina.
Bureau Report