Egis and Projacs win bid to work on Riyadh Airport

Global professional services firm Egis is set to work with its Middle East subsidiary Projacs to offer project management consultancy services for renovation efforts at Riyadh Airport – also known as King Khalid International Airport (KKIA).

KKIA is owned and operated by Riyadh Airports Company (RA) – a newly established company and a key part of the privatisation drive in Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector. An upgrade of the existing airport infrastructure was among the chief reasons for privatising, and the airport operator has now flown in Egis and its subsidiary Projacs to support with this upgrade.

Plans are to improve airside infrastructure at King Khalid International Airport, which includes renovating two runways as well as taxiways, cargo aprons and parking bays. Airfield ground lighting (AGL) will be fitted with LED lighting systems that can be controlled digitally, while navigational aids and the baggage handling systems in some terminals are also set for an upgrade.

For Egis and Projacs, work will span design review, construction management and supervision services. For instance, the two firms are tasked with setting, reviewing and clearing the performance indicators for contractors brought on board to make the infrastructure upgrades.

France-headquartered Egis is well equipped for a project of this calibre, and has group footing in the regional market as well. With grounding in construction and engineering consulting services, the firm has previously worked on transportation projects in Qatar and Dubai, as well as a railway project connecting the UAE with Saudi Arabia and Oman.

According to Egis’ Executive Director for Aviation Cédric Barbier, the firm has been involved with “equipment, systems operations and maintenance contracts” at Riyadh Airport for more than six years now, giving it a strong foundation to build on with the latest contract.

A parent company to Projacs and global aviation consultancy Helios, Egis currently has 14,000 employees around the world and generates an annual turnover of $1 billion. Projacs, meanwhile, is an Egis subsidiary and the group’s regional stronghold in the Middle East. The firm is headquartered in Dubai, and has offices in Riyadh, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jeddah, among a number of other regional financial centres.

Together with its parent, the firm will now work on the overhaul of KKIA. According to Barbier, principles of sustainability and innovation – key principles in Saudi’s growth story going forward – will be central to the new project.

“We will mobilise a multi-skilled team of around 90 employees whose work will focus on delivering a sustainable development that complies with all the relevant international and national regulations, codes, and standards. Sustainability, safety and innovation will constitute the governing principles of how this project is managed,” he said.