IC İçtaş Construction, which has completed the renovation of two terminals at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and is now ready to hand them over, has also expressed interest in new airport projects in the country. The company aims to secure at least one of the six terminals to be built in Riyadh and will also submit a bid for the NEOM International Airport tender. Meanwhile, IC İçtaş Construction has also won the $500 million tender for the Wadi Laban Bridge, which will be the country’s tallest bridge.
Having completed the engineering and construction work for Terminals 3 and 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, IC İçtaş İnşaat is now nearing completion of Terminals 1 and 2, as well as the connecting buildings. Having built these terminals with a total investment of $1.4 billion, IC İçtaş Construction aims to secure at least one of the six new terminals to be put out to bid.
The company has also been awarded the $1.5 billion Long Thanh International Airport construction project in Vietnam. The Long Thanh International Airport, undertaken by the VIETUR Consortium led by IC İçtaş Construction, will serve more than 100 million passengers annually once it becomes operational. The airport is expected to be completed on December 5, 2026.
COMPLETED IN 11 MONTHS
We met with İlker Öksüz, a member of the Executive Board of IC İçtaş Construction, in Riyadh. Stating that they have now become a global player in this sector thanks to the Antalya Airport project, İlker Öksüz said, “With projects such as the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and the Long Thanh International Airport in Vietnam, we are showcasing the strength of Turkish engineering across different regions. We plan to complete the first terminal building of the project, carried out in partnership with Al Rashid Trading and Contracting Company, in as little as 11 months and open it in early December. We will begin construction of the second terminal building in January 2025, and the airport will provide world-class service to millions of passengers,” he said.
Noting that 3,500 people from 17 countries are working on the King Khalid International Airport renovation project, Öksüz shared an interesting detail about the bidding process:
“Our experience in aviation has become highly sought after. They invited us to bid, and we came in second. A German firm won the contract, but a year later they called us and said, ‘The Germans can’t do it—can we reach an agreement with you at the original price?’ We began construction in 2018.”
Noting that the first contract was worth $780 million and the second $638 million, Öksüz said, “There are six more tender packages, and we aim to win at least one of them. That one alone has a budget of no less than $1.5 billion.”
A $10 BILLION OPPORTUNITY FOR TURKISH COMPANIES
Emphasizing their interest in the $1 trillion NEOM project and noting that Turkish companies could secure at least $10 billion annually from this project, İlker Öksüz said they would submit a bid for the ski resort tender in NEOM, which will serve the 2029 Winter Olympics.
ALSO BIDDING FOR AIRPORT OPERATIONS
Stating that they also plan to submit a bid for the NEOM International Airport, which has a capacity of 20 million passengers, İlker Öksüz continued:
“Saudi Arabia is investing to become a new aviation hub. Kuwait will soon open a new airport. Qatar has made major investments. Dubai is building its sixth terminal. Saudi Arabia also wants to be a key player in this field. We, too, want to enter the airport operations sector. We are candidates for the Riyadh or Jeddah airports. Abha Airport is currently in the privatization phase. Since it is a relatively small airport, we did not bid on it. However, the privatization of new airports will take place over a five-year period. The Neom Bay Airport is also set to be built. A 20-million-passenger airport is being planned for that city in the medium term. It will be a project worth billions of dollars. It is reported that three Turkish companies are bidding to build the Neom Bay Airport. We submitted a bid for the pre-qualification phase.”
WON A $500 MILLION BRIDGE CONTRACT
İlker Öksüz also mentioned that they had won a new tender in Saudi Arabia. “We won the Wadi Laban Bridge tender. We are building two cable-stayed bridges at the point where the road from Hijaz to Damascus intersects with the Riyadh bypass. Each bridge will be 763 meters long, 167 meters high, and 36 meters wide, and will accommodate six lanes of traffic in each direction. It is a $500 million project. “We aim to complete and put the Wadi Laban Bridge—which will be the country’s tallest bridge upon completion—into service in as little as 36 months,” he said.
TO OPERATE A WIND POWER PLANT IN ITALY
Noting that they are not currently involved in any energy projects as an operator worldwide but will take on the operation of two projects abroad in the green energy sector, Öksüz continued:
“We have acquired two companies that operate wind power plants in Italy. We also have a salt distillation project in Azerbaijan in partnership with ACWA. It is a $400 million project. As we undertake global projects, we are receiving invitations from many countries. We are even receiving invitations from countries ranging from Ireland to El Salvador.”