Turkey’s TAV Airports is looking to increase its stake in Tibah Airports Development Company, operator of Saudi Arabia’s Medina airport, to 50 per cent by acquiring half of the local Saudi Oger’s shares.

Tibah Airports Development is a special-purpose vehicle (SPV), which won the 25-year concession to build and operate Medina’s Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz airport in 2012. Its shares are split equally between TAV, Saudi Oger and Al-Rajhi Holding.

TAV confirmed on 6 September that it has started negotiations with Saudi Oger to purchase half of its 33.3 per cent shares.

Saudi Oger has been undergoing major financial upheavals. MEED previously reported that investors close to the Saudi royal family could be planning to take over the company, which has an estimated exposure to lenders of about $3.45bn.

The expanded Medina airport entered full operations in June 2015. The scope of the expansion scheme, which required $1.2bn of financing, included the construction of a new terminal building and apron, among others.

The project reached financial close in June 2012. It was financed by Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB), Sabb and Arab National Bank under the supervision of the Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC).

TAV said the Medina airport served 5.8 million passengers, equivalent to 7 per cent of the kingdom’s total airport passenger traffic, in 2015.