Saudi Arabia to start privatizing airports in 2016 to ease budget deficit

Saudi Arabia will begin privatizing its airports and related services within the first quarter of 2016 as the government looks to diversify its income sources amid declining oil prices, the kingdom’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) said in a statement.

King Khalid International Airport will be privatized as Riyadh Airports Company in the first three months of the year. The air navigation sector will be privatized under the name Air Navigation Services Company in the second quarter, followed by the information technology sector which will become the Saudi Company for Aviation Information Systems in Q3-2016.

“The privatization program is in line with the kingdom’s plan to boost productivity and efficiency at its airport systems, as well as to ease the government’s financial burdens, Sulaiman al-Hamdan, chairman of GACA said in a statement.

The kingdom lately has been investing in its airlines infrastructure by buying more planes, and privatizing some of its airport units. Both Saudi Airlines Catering Co and Saudi Ground Services Co have been listed on Tadawul, the kingdom’s bourse, with the latter just enlisting earlier this year.

GACA added in the statement that more units at its domestic and international airports will be privatized according to a five-year schedule set until 2020.