Airport operators/investors look for a Middle East home in Saudi Arabia, close to Mecca

Saudi Arabia's drive towards the expansion of its airports industry and attendant privatisation continues to gather pace.

Hard on the heels of 100 expressions of interest in the expansion of Abha Airport, and the announcement that the world's physically largest airport will be built at Riyadh, along come another 90 EoIs for the new airport at Taif to serve the region to the east of Mecca, which does not have its own commercial airport.

Some of the interested parties count amongst the world's largest operators and in many cases this is their first venture into the Middle East, while there are other nameworthy companies that are represented for the first time in the sector.

Of course, there will be challenges along the way, including managing a very large influx of visitors (most travellers to Mecca do so via the Jeddah airport), ensuring a sustainable tourism industry, and addressing potential over-tourism issues.

The Kingdom seems to have put behind it the bad press it accrued internationally in the late 2010s. It is rapidly reversing previous policies that strictly controlled tourist visits and to all intent and purpose it is 'open to business'.

With the Brazilian concessions, despite the occasional spurt, coming to their conclusion, and a hiatus in place in Japan, investors that retain an appetite for the airport sector will increasingly be drawn to Saudi Arabia.