The Kingdom on Monday signed maintenance and operation contracts worth SR1.29 billion for 25 Saudi airports, authorities said. The five-year contracts for 24 domestic airports and Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madina were signed by Prince Fahd Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Civil Aviation Affairs, in his office in Jeddah. He signed the contracts on behalf of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, who is on a private visit to Agadir, Morocco. The projects have come to reflect the government's care for the aviation industry, which is seen as the “driving wheel for development,” Prince Fahd said. The contracts include more than just regular maintenance and operations, he added, and address responsibilities such as “cleaning, grassing of airport outside areas, water and spare parts supply, provision of vehicles and equipment and examining systems and the standard of performance.” The contracts also cover security systems, air-conditioning, baggage claim areas, gangways and staircases to planes and other basic airport facilities. Contracted companies will be responsible for proving well-trained airport staff to boost the quality of the airlines' services, Prince Fahd said.Mohammed Noor Rahimi, President of GACA, said the projects will help airports catch up with the industry's accelerating development and contribute to improved travel security and safety. The contracts divided the 25 airports into five groups; each was awarded to a company or an alliance of companies. Group one includes Prince Abdul-Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Yanbu, Al-Baha Airport, Rabegh Airport, Taif Airport and GACA headquarters in Jeddah. The contract, worth SR253 million was awarded to the Saudi Company for Limited Services in alliance with Mohammed Bin Laden Company. A SR285 million contract for group two, which was won by Al-Jawdah for Contracting Ltd., covers Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport at Madina, Prince Abdul Majeed Bin Abdul Aziz Airport at Al-Ola, Hail, Tabuk and Al-Wajh airports. A third contract worth SR251 million has been won by the Arabian Bemco Contracting Company to handle Arar, Turaif, Qurayat, Jouf and Rafha airports. Group four covers Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Airport at Dawadmi, Al-Hasa Airport, Qassim, Hafr Al-Baten and Wadi Al-Dawasser airports along with King Khaled Military City at Hafr Al-Baten. Safari Ltd. Company received SR254 million for work at those locations. Group five is made up of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Jizan along with Bisha, Abha, Najran and Sharroura airports. Saudi Bin Laden Group Company for Operation and Maintenance won the SR251 million contract. As per the contracts, the rate of Saudi manpower at the airports will break the 24-percent mark, Prince Fahd said, and Saudis will have secured half the positions by the end of the five
