A consortium led by Germany’s Hochtief has been selected for the contract to build the expansion of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.

According to sources close to the project the team has been selected by the client, but a formal contract award has not yet been made.

The Hochtief team, which also includes India’s Shapoorji Pallonji and the local Al-Nahda, was the lowest bidder for both parts of the expansion project, with a total price of SR10.8bn ($2.9bn) in May. The price was SR5.24bn for part A, which involves the upgrade of terminals 3 and 4, and a price of SR5.6bn for part B that covers the upgrade of terminals 1 and 2.

The second-lowest bidder was a team of Turkey’s IC ICTAS and the local Al-Rashid with a combined price of SR12bn.

The other bidders were Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) with the local Al-Mabani General Contractors at SR14.5bn, Cyprus-based Joannou & Paraskevaides (J&P) and the local Al-Bawani Company with a price of SR14.8bn; Belgium’s Six Construct with the local El-Seif Engineering Contracting and India’s Larsen & Toubro at SR17bn; and Spain’s FCC with Dubai-based Drake & Scull International at SR21.9bn.

Part A was initially tendered on its own. Part B was added during the tender process. According to sources close the project, the packages are very similar. Part A has a gross floor area of 284,000 square metres on six levels, including one basement level, and part B has a gross floor area 290,000 sq m on six levels with one basement level. The value of part B is slightly larger because it includes a structure linking the two terminal complexes.

The jobs will be completed in phases, with part A to be completed in 48 months, followed by part B, which will take 38 months to complete.

The contract is the latest major construction deal to be tendered at King Khalid International airport, which is located 35 kilometres north of the capital. In May 2013, a joint venture of Turkey’s TAV and the local Al-Arrab Contracting Company was awarded the estimated SR1.5bn contract to build the new Terminal 5 building.

In July 2012, Al-Mabani was awarded an estimated SR219.5m contract to build a new apron at the airport.

All these projects are part of General Authority of Civil Aviation’s (GACA’s) significant expansion programme for King Khalid International, which will increase the airport’s annual capacity to about 24 million passengers from the current 14 million.