The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has not awarded any new contracts to build new or expand airports in 2016. The only exception to this is a five-year contract to operate and maintain (O&M) Terminal 5 at Riyadh airport. A number of domestic airport projects, with a combined value of USD1.4bn were due for award this year, according to MEED. This value excludes the planned Taif airport public-private partnership (PPP) project, which was put on hold earlier this year. The lack of new awards in the sector so far is in contrast with reassurances made by officials earlier this year that the budget for the Kingdom’s airport modernisation plan will not be affected by ongoing austerity measures. The Kingdom had awarded cUSD15.6bn airport contracts between 2006 and 2015, peaking in 2010 at cUSD7bn. (MEED)