Successful Bidder Announced for Expansion and Rehabilitation of the Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah
In Dubai
Moazzam Mekan
Telephone: +(971) 4 360 1000
Email: mmekan@ifc.org
Jeddah, December 20, 2006 - The
General Authority of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, today announced the
winning bidder for a long-term concession for expansion and rehabilitation
of a specialized passenger terminal for religious pilgrims at the King
Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
IFC advised and assisted the General
Authority in structuring its first public-private partnership transaction
under a long-term “build-transfer-operate” concession agreement, with
the private sector partner chosen through a competitive bidding process.
The Hajj Terminal is one of the country’s most important air terminals
and is dedicated to international religious pilgrims visiting the holy
sites for Hajj and Umrah. The terminal currently has inadequate facilities
and severe capacity constraints. This project is the first step taken by
the General Authority of Civil Aviation as part of a master redevelopment
program aimed at meeting an increasing volume of passenger traffic. Under
the 20-year agreement, the investor will replace the existing facilities
with a new modern terminal with sufficient capacity and state-of-the-art
equipment to provide the required level of service to the Hajj and Umrah
passengers.
Of the five Saudi and international
groups who participated in the bidding process, the consortium led by Saudi
Binladen Group in association with Aeroports de Paris Management was selected
as the preferred bidder, based on the combined scores of the evaluated
technical and financial proposals submitted by the bidders.
H.E. Abdullah M. N. Rehaimi, President
of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, noted that, “GACA is undergoing
a rapid transformation with an overall objective of achieving full commercialization.
The Hajj Terminal Expansion and Rehabilitation Project is GACA’s first
effort to introduce private sector participation in its activities. By
attracting an international airport operator’s expertise and building
modern terminal facilities, we will considerably improve the level of service
provided to the visitors of the two holy mosques for the next two decades.”
Bernard Sheahan, IFC’s Advisory Services
Director, added, “This project sets an important precedent for future
initiatives in which the private sector can take an increasingly central
role. The private sector can provide the necessary expertise and to help
meet the infrastructure needs of a growing economy such as Saudi Arabia’s.”
About IFC
IFC, the private sector arm of the World
Bank Group, promotes open and competitive markets in developing countries.
IFC supports sustainable private sector companies and other partners
in generating productive jobs and delivering basic services, so that people
have opportunities to escape poverty and improve their lives. Through FY06,
IFC Financial Products has committed more than $56 billion in funding for
private sector investments and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications
for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC Advisory Services
and donor partners have provided more than $1 billion in program support
to build small enterprises, to accelerate private participation in infrastructure,
to improve the business enabling environment, to increase access to finance,
and to strengthen environmental and social sustainability. For more information,
please visit www.ifc.org.
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