Saudi Arabia is relaunching its strategy to privatize its airports in order to secure investment as it seeks to triple annual visitor numbers by 2030.
According to Bloomberg, ownership of the 29 airports has already been moved to a new entity, called Matarat, in order to prepare them for the process. An international investor roadshow could start in the next 12 to 18 months, Abdulaziz Al Duailej, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, said in an interview.
Visits were up 130% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the last quarter of 2019.
News of the Kingdom’s plans to convert its airport operators into holding companies and transfer them to the Public Investment Fund (PIF) was first reported in December 2021.
Saudi Arabia has previously attempted to privatize its airports, hiring Goldman Sachs in 2017 to sell a stake in Riyadh’s King Khalid International (RUH) hub, before abandoning the plan, Bloomberg notes.
“I will not wait until 2030 to privatize the whole sector,” Al Duailej said on the sidelines of the Saudi Future of Aviation Forum in Riyadh, which concludes today, May 11. Al Duailej expects the selloff to be completed long before then, adding that it’s not yet clear how much the privatization program might raise.
Saudi Arabia is pushing forward with privatization schemes in other sectors. The Kingdom’s “Privatization Program” is one of Saudi Arabia’s Vision Realization Programs (VRP), which are action plans to achieve goals stated in Vision 2030, the all-important social and economic reform drive. The Privatization Program aims to improve the quality of services provided in those companies being privatized “and contribute to the reduction of costs, also encouraging economic diversity and development, and boosting competitiveness to face regional and international competition. The program also seeks to attract Foreign Direct Investment and improve the balance of payments,” the Saudi government says.
Meanwhile, progress continues across Saud Arabia in the tourism space as the Saudi Future of Aviation Forum drives deals and progress in the sector.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) reportedly expects to announce $6 billion worth of tenders for the heritage mega project after summer, the Group CEO said.
Representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Project said will take in its first visitors in early 2023 and by the end of 2024, the multi-faceted destination will comprise of 3,000 rooms across 16 separate resorts – two inland and 14 on the coast.
The Kingdom aims to attract Saudi Arabia aims to exceed 70 million tourist visits this year after drawing 62 million last year.
