Asyad-led consortium to build Taif airport

 A Saudi-led international consortium has won the contract to develop and operate the new Taif International Airport, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

Tarek Bin Othman Abdul Jabbar, assistant president of GACA, said that another Saudi-Turkish consortium will undertake development and operation of Al-Qassim and Hail airports, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He said that the Saudi company Asyad Holding will carry out the development and operation of Taif airport in collaboration with Lebanon’s Consolidated Contractors Co. (CCC) and Munich Airport while the contract for Al-Qassim and Hail airports has been given to the consortium of Al-Rajhi Holding Group and Turkey’s TAV Airports Holding.

The new Taif airport, which will be the Kingdom’s third airport developed under public private partnership (PPP), planned to have an initial capacity of five million passengers a year, which could be increased to eight million and will be opened in 2020. “The airport will be built under PPP in the pattern of Madinah’s Prince Muhammad International Airport,” Abdul Jabbar said while unveiling plans of GACA to ensure more private sector involvement in developing airports across the Kingdom.