Saudi Binladin Group has signed a SR8.5bn ($2.3bn) loan deal with a group of mainly local and regional banks to finance the SR27.1bn project to expand and redevelop Jeddah airport.

The deal was increased in size from SR6bn and was arranged by Bahrain’s Gulf International Bank.

The banks funding the deal included the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD, Union National Bank, Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank, Arab Banking Corporation, Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, Jordan’s Arab Bank, France’s BNP Paribas, Malaysia’s Maybank, and the local Samba and Arab National Bank.

The deal is one of the largest loan deals completed in Saudi Arabia in 2011. The deal is structured as a contractor finance facility to fund Saudi Binladin’s development work on the Jeddah airport development.