The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is inviting consultants to submit bids by 16 February to carry out a land survey for the $1.5bn first phase expansion of Medina International airport.

The land survey consultant will survey the north-west area of the airport and identify the ownership of each plot of land that is required for the expansion.

The terrain in Medina is hilly and companies bidding for the construction contract will have to take into account the topography of the site.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (Gaca) has invited firms to submit bids by 28 February for the first phase of the expansion, which will be carried out on a public-private partnership basis. Eight consortiums are prequalified to bid (MEED 1:11:10).

The IFC is part of the Washington-based World Bank and is acting as the lead adviser to Gaca on the airport expansion.

The first phase of development involves building airside and landside facilities at the airport under a long-term concession. Gaca is planning to upgrade and expand the airport to increase its passenger handling capacity to 14 million people a year. Medina airport currently handles about 3.5 million passengers annually.

The expansion is needed to accommodate the large volumes of pilgrims that visit Medina every during the hajj period in particular.