Riyadh: 29 airports are being privatized in Saudi Arabia. The Civil Aviation Authority has announced that the ownership of the airports has been transferred. Saudi Arabia, which is undergoing revolutionary changes in the tourism sector, is expected to accelerate development activities with the privatization of more domestic and international airports.
Abdul Aziz Al Duilaj, president of the General Authority for Civil Aviation, said the ownership of 29 airports had already been transferred to a company called Mattarath. The goal is to triple the number of annual visitors by 2030. 330 million visitors are expected by 2030. But Abdul Aziz al-Duilaj said the privatization would not wait until 2030 and that all procedures would be completed before then.
Meanwhile, officials had earlier said that new airports would be built in the capital, Riyadh, and Jeddah. Airports are being built with a capacity to handle 100 million passengers per year. At present, the aviation sector contributes $ 2.1 billion to GDP. The goal is to raise it to $ 75 billion by 2030. The authority has said it will invest $ 100 billion in the aviation sector by 2030.
