A rendering of the King Salman International Airport masterplan, with six runways around today's King Khalid International.
Three groups are competing to build a new terminal at King Salman International Airport in Riyadh, which its PIF-backed developer wants ready before the city hosts Expo 2030.
Bids for Terminal 6, which would handle 40 million passengers a year, are due on Dec. 30, Construction Week Saudi reported, citing MEED.
The contenders:
Al-Gihaz Holding with Turkey's TAV and Italy's Webuild
Modern Building Leaders with PowerChina and MCC
UCC Holding with China Communications Construction
How we got here: the groups were shortlisted in March and finished an early design phase with the developer last month. Enabling works went in July to a venture of China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. and Mofarreh AlHarbi.
The bigger plan: the airport is a $30 billion program built around the existing King Khalid International. It aims to handle 120 million passengers a year by 2030 and 185 million by 2050.
The design: Foster + Partners drew up the masterplan, covering about 57 square kilometers with six runways. Bechtel is the delivery partner.
Why it matters: Expo 2030 will bring millions of visitors to Riyadh in a single six-month window. With the deadline fixed, the award will show how fast the airport can go from drawings to a working terminal.
For more on how Riyadh is getting around, read Riyadh Metro Heads to Diriyah as Parsons Takes Charge of the Build.
