Clifford Chance, in co-operation with AS&H Law Firm in Saudi Arabia, advised the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) on the landmark privatisations of five of Saudi Arabia's international airports:
* King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah
* Taif International Airport, Taif
* Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Airport and Hail Airport, Al-Qassim
* Hail Airport, Hail
* Prince Abdulmohsin bin Abdulaziz Airport, Yanbu
The deals are the first to be signed as part of Saudi Arabia's reinvigorated plan to privatise its international and domestic airports by 2020. The privatisations received enormous interest from international airport operators. The deals are also the first major non-utility PPP projects to close in the Kingdom, tangible evidence of the Kingdom pursuing a PPP strategy for developing its capital projects.
The concession contracts have been entered into with consortiums that include world-leading operating members, with Jeddah Airport involving a concession contract with Changi Airports; Taif Airport with Munich Airports; and Qassim, Hail and Yanbu Airports with TAV. These concession agreements deliver critical upgrades to each airport and stand to change the face of aviation in the Kingdom.
Not only were the deals signed in record time, Clifford Chance helped GACA successfully negotiate out of traffic risk guarantees for the first time.
Mohamed Hamra-Krouha, Clifford Chance Partner commented: "Congratulations to GACA and all the parties involved on these truly landmark and game-changing agreements. Through the strength of our local team backed by international experts, we delivered to GACA the combination of global best-practice and formidable Saudi know-how allowing GACA to set up agreements that will pave the way forward for its future airport privatisations."
Hamra-Krouha further added: "Clifford Chance is at the forefront of the development of PPP in the region. Uniquely, through our embedded and market-leading specialist Projects and Construction teams, we offer clients innovative and balanced contractual structures that are designed to support the financial requirements of external funders, and the efficiency of major international projects in relation to construction, operation and maintenance risk whilst taking account of the interests of equity and contractors."
The Clifford Chance team was co-led led by Mohamed Hamra-Krouha (Partner and co-Head of Finance, Riyadh) and Florian Mahler (Partner, Germany) and included Richard Parris (Partner, Head of Projects & Energy, Middle East), Sergei Kabanov (Senior Associate, Germany), Alhassane Barry (Counsel, Abu Dhabi), Michael Gabriel (Associate, Abu Dhabi), Jennifer Riddle (Associate, Abu Dhabi). The Riyadh-based AS&H team included Omar Rashid (Clifford Chance Partner seconded to AS&H), Bilal Rana (Clifford Chance Senior Associate seconded to AS&H), Rizwan Butt (Clifford Chance Associate seconded to AS&H), and Sahal Khalawi (Associate, AS&H), Abdullah Al-Obaid (Associate, AS&H).
Elsewhere, Clifford Chance has also recently advised Vinci Airports in relation to the concession to operate Kansai International and Osaka Itami Airports in Japan. The firm had also previously advised on airport privatisations in Jordan, Oman, Turkey, Russia and Eastern Europe.
Clifford Chance and AS&H are trusted by and regularly advise key Saudi ministries and entities including the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Tadawul, Ministry of Labour, Human Resources Development Fund, Ministry of Housing, General Authority for Sports as well as a wide range of government owned and privately held Saudi businesses. The team is currently advising on a range of other Saudi privatisation programmes.
