Daa’s newly-established international consultancy and services arm is close to securing its first major contract to manage the commencement of operations and the ongoing operation of the new fifth terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority confirmed yesterday that daa had secured the contract though it's understood that the deal has not been finalised.

Daa established its international services division after its experience of launching and managing Dublin Airport's second terminal.

It’s understood that a senior team of between five and ten daa operations personnel will be based in Riyadh if the contract is secured.

Saudi Arabia has been criticised by the international community for executing 47 people last Saturday - including the beheading of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

This resulted in the cutting of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Its human rights record has been criticised by Amnesty International Ireland - Colm O'Gorman, its executive director said that an EU action plan on human rights demands that member states promote human rights through their interactions with other nations, "particularly in trade and investment."

The airport served 22.3 million passengers in 2015 - that was a 6.8% increase on 2014.

When it is in operation the new terminal is due to have the capacity to carry 12 million passengers a year.

This comes less than a month after the Aer Rianta International Group (ARI) won a 10-year contact at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

This will see them sell the perfume, cosmetics, skincare, sunglasses and fashion jewellery categories at the airport's new Midfield terminal from 2017.