Saudi Arabia beefs up plans for aviation sector privatization

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation plans to expand privatization programs in the nation’s aviation sector to accommodate the rapid growth of passenger numbers; Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, president of GACA, said that the authority’s move to privatize a number of international and national airports is aimed at improving services and raising overall quality for airline passengers.

Al-Hamdan said the privatization plan comes after recommendations from the Saudi leadership to increase the attention given to the air transport industry. The Saudi government wants to give the industry its full support in the continuation of its development. That’s so that aviation plays a central role in the economic and social development of the Gulf nation while creating job opportunities for citizens.

The authority is witnessing an important phase in privatizing the the aviation sector to which has seen previous success. One example is the Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah, which is fully managed by the private sector without the state bearing any financial costs.

Al-Hamdan said that the authority will work to achieve the objectives of the privatization strategy, which involves encouraging investment in all aviation sectors. That includes the privatization of critical sectors such as airports and air navigation.