Advisory Services Projects in Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, IFC PEP-MENA is engaged in several advisory services initiatives, including:




Financial Markets

IFC provided Riyad Bank with advisory services to enable the bank to serve the small and medium enterprise market more effectively and introduce new SME finance products and services. IFC also cosponsored the Euromoney Saudi Arabia Housing & Financing conference and organized conferences on SME banking and corporate governance for Saudi Banks.

To improve credit information services in the country, IFC conducted a study to assess the viability of SIMAH, the local bank-owned consumer credit bureau, to expand its credit reporting services to SMEs and the corporate sector. The IFC-supported study was instrumental for SIMAH to implement its expansion program.


Public-Private Partnership and Privatization

IFC is advising the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the development of three "Airport Cities" under private sector participation schemes in Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam. The project intends to develop commercially oriented airport cities around such international airports by partnering with specialized airport property developers to implement fully integrated logistic hubs.This project is part of GACA's strategy to liberalize the Kingdom's air transport sector to enhance the efficiency and quality of the airports, reach international standards, and stimulate aviation activities. Through the project, GACA aims to achieve the following objectives:

• Leverage the private sector's financial strength and technical expertise to use aviation assets more efficiently
• Improve GACA's financial sustainability
• Promote non-oil private sector economic growth
• Support job creation
• Establish a private sector participation model that could easily be replicated in the Kingdom's other transportation hubs

IFC also advised the General Authority of Civil Aviation in two landmark private sector participation projects: the expansion and rehabilitation of the Hajj terminal at the King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, the terminal dedicated to the pilgrims visiting Mecca for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages; and the development of a new 30,000m³/day desalination plant to supply potable water to the airport and its associated facilities. The projects will have a tremendous impact on the millions of pilgrims that use the airport on a daily basis, improving the substandard facilities and intermittent supply of water, and reducing the extremely long processing and waiting times.

The expansion and rehabilitation project resulted in significant savings for GACA, which was previously operating at a deficit to sustain the operations of the Hajj terminal. It is estimated that GACA will save more than $23 million a year, starting from the first year of the project and increasing to about $25 million as a result of the growth in passengers and the change in the traffic allocation to the terminal. There will be more savings considering the capital costs avoided, with $250 million of private investment expected to be mobilized over the life of the project. The project is also the first step in GACA's redevelopment program aimed at meeting the airport's increasing volume of passenger traffic. Read more...

The desalination project will significantly lower the cost of water and introduce international best practices in the operation of the desalination plant at the airport, leading to a more sustainable and improved water supply, and creating an impact on millions of airport users every year. It is estimated that the price quoted by the winning bidder will save GACA about $12 million per year as a result of technical, economic, operational, and managerial efficiencies. Savings are further increased when taking into account the capital costs avoided. It is estimated that the project will mobilize more than $35 million in private investment in the country. Read more...

In addition, the projects have set a precedent in Saudi Arabia for transparency and best practices in selecting private sector partners in infrastructure projects, helping demonstrate the benefits of a transparent and competitive process in the selection of a long-term partner for the government.


SME Development

IFC and Riyad Bank have developed the first Arabic version of the SME Toolkit, IFC's self-learning solution for small enterprises seeking to upgrade their business skills. Riyad Bank is using the toolkit to complement its SME banking solutions, promote its services to Saudi enterprises, and improve the performance of Saudi SMEs. Learn more about IFC's SME Toolkit...