The Dubai Airports Company has awarded Germany’s Siemens with a multi-year operation and maintenance (O&M) contract for its baggage and materials handling systems across terminals 1, 2 and 3 of the Dubai International airport and the adjacent Dubai Flower Centre.

The contract signed with Siemens Postal, Parcel and Airport Logistics, and the value was not disclosed. It includes an option for extension upon expiry.

The contract covers all facets of operational support, trouble-shooting, permanent improvement as well as preventive and predictive maintenance.

Siemens personnel will be working alongside the airport staff at multiple levels to form an integrated operations and asset care teams.

The long-term contract is understood to allow for a strategic approach to process re-engineering, energy savings as well as cost and time efficiency.

The King Abdulaziz International airport in Mecca, Saudi Arabia is also understood to be be currently evaluating bids for a similar O&M contract. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is advising the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) on the transaction, which IFC has said will be awarded before year end. However, given the directive issued last week by the kingdom’s Finance Ministry to hold all project awards for the rest of the year, it is likely that the project award will now be pushed to 2016.