RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Monday launched a new aviation policy that seeks to boost the sector’s performance and attract investments worth $100 billion by 2030. According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the policy will adopt regulations for airports, ground services, air cargo and air transport services effective Oct. 30. The policy supports the privatization of airports, facilitates the procedures for new investors to join the aviation market, and enables airport operators to set wages according to their plans. The authority will also enable airport operators to flexibly diversify their revenues by increasing revenues from non-navigational services. This move will incentivize airports to diversify services and commercial activities, becoming stronger travel hubs with international standards. Additionally, the authority’s economic policy and regulations will help stimulate the Kingdom’s investment environment, boost the transport and logistics sector’s contribution to the local gross domestic product to 10 percent, and create direct and indirect job opportunities in the aviation sector. Furthermore, the measure will attract investments of up to $100 billion from the public and private sectors by 2030 and aims to create a competitive climate that offers equal opportunities for the sector’s current operators and future investors. The measure supports the National Aviation Sector’s strategic plan, aiming to position it as the leading sector in the Middle East and contribute to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification. In an effort to enhance the authority’s regulatory role, the airport regulations are designed to establish the foundation for supervising the processes of airport operators, encouraging privatization, and facilitating the entry of new investors into the region’s aviation market. The economic regulations for ground handling and air cargo services require adherence to the principle of “market access freedom” for anyone wishing to provide services at the Kingdom’s airports, as well as establishing criteria and principles governing the selection of ground service providers. Moreover, GACA’s air transport services regulations aim to stimulate traffic by facilitating the requirements for issuing economic licenses for air carriers and canceling the economic requests for non-commercial flights, enhancing air connectivity in the Kingdom.