Daa secures contract to manage major Saudi airport

The operator of Cork and Dublin airports described the new contract as a game changer for the company

Terminal 1 at King Abdulaziz International Airport is eight times bigger than Dublin's Terminal 2.

Daa International has won a multi-million euro contract to manage and advise on the operation of the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for the next five years.

The contract is to support, manage and advise on operations, aviation business development, non-aeronautical revenue and facilities management.

The State-owned Daa Group which operates Dublin and Cork Airports also manage and advises airports in Australia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and the UK through its daa International subsidiary.

King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah has a commercial mandate similar to daa who operate Dublin and Cork airports. JEDCO, the new corporate entity recently went to the market seeking an international airport operator with a proven track record and international credentials.

The airport served more than 38 million passengers in 2019 and with a capacity for over 46 million passengers per annum. Terminal 1 alone is 800,000 square meters and is currently the second biggest terminal in the world, more than eight times bigger than Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport.

It is located on an aerodrome of 105 square kilometres with multiple terminals, cargo, maintenance, repair and operations and an immense open-air terminal for the seasonal Hajj influx.

"We are delighted to have won this highly significant international contract," Nicholas Cole, CEO of daa International said. "It will be a gamechanger for daa International and the entire daa Group, providing outstanding career opportunities for our team."

“We are extremely proud to have been chosen as a result of a highly competitive tender process among such formidable global competition."

In addition to the local team employed on this contract, daa International will have a team of 45 specialists in Jeddah, which will include the senior executive management within the company, who together with the JEDCO senior team will lead over 1,000 staff. Daa International said it will mobilise 15 managers over March and April with additional personnel to join the team over the following six months.