Changi Airports Saudi Arabia (Casa) says the 20-year contract it signed last year with Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) for the operation and management of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International airport is currently being implemented and is not under review.

Sources with knowledge of the matter had earlier informed MEED that the contract could be under review.

“We have not been informed by Gaca that it is under review and therefore are unable to comment on your question,” See Ngee Muoy, spokesperson at Changi Airports International (CAI), tells MEED via email.

CAI owns 75 per cent of Casa, with the remaining shares owned by local Saudi Naval Service.

See said Casa has been working closely with Gaca “to get the new King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) ready and fully operational when it opens later this year”.

“We have established the management team which will be responsible for the new KAIA. Currently, we are in the process of defining the airport’s customer experience, which will be enhanced by a unique retail and dining selection,” See said. “The CAI consortium is also preparing for the Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (Orat) programme for the airport.”

An Orat programme typically involves developing required procedures and processes and testing all facilities, systems and machinery prior to the opening of an airport.

Gaca awarded the contract to Casa on 30 April last year, a mere seven days from the submission of bids.

It was the second round of tender for the contract. Both the CAI-led consortium and another team led by France’s Aeroports de Paris Management (ADPM) submitted an offer for the contract in July 2016 but the tender was cancelled the following month.

Both teams submitted an offer when Gaca re-issued the tender in early 2017.

King Abdulaziz International airport is Saudi Arabia’s largest airport in terms of passenger traffic; it handled 31.15 million passengers in 2016, some 3.5 per cent more than in 2015.

Gaca said the new airport aims to be operational by mid-2018, or shortly before the hajj season commences this year.

The redevelopment of the airport began in 2010 when Gaca awarded local Saudi Binladin Group two contracts worth a combined $7.2bn for the overhaul of the existing terminal at the airport and the construction of a new one. The new terminal has a design capacity of 30 million passengers annually.

The masterplan for the airport envisages increasing its capacity to up to 43 million passengers a year by 2025 and 80 million passengers annually by 2035.

Appointing a private operator for the Jeddah airport is in line with the kingdom’s plan to privatise all its airports in the immediate future.