Nayef Aldelbah (left), CEO of Alnimr Alarabi, pictured with Gianni Lettieri, chairman and CEO of Atitech, at MRO Europe in London.
LONDON—Italian MRO provider Atitech has signed a letter of intent with a Saudi Arabian investment firm to explore setting up a maintenance center of excellence in the kingdom.
Atitech announced the commitment with Alnimr Alarabi Holding, an investment company focusing on aerospace and emerging technology, at Aviation Week’s MRO Europe on Oct. 15. Together, both parties will look to establish a maintenance business serving the South Asia, Middle East and Africa regions from Saudi Arabia. No specific city was disclosed as a location for any eventual joint venture.
Atitech operates 12 maintenance hangars in total, spread across its home base of Naples, the former Alitalia Maintenance facilities in Rome and, more recently, in Olbia, Sardinia, where it unveiled a new venture into business aviation jet maintenance earlier this month, obtaining two hangars formerly operated by defunct airlines Air Italy and Meridiana in January 2025.
“This agreement marks a significant milestone in our international expansion strategy,” said Gianni Lettieri, chairman and CEO of Atitech. “It allows us to strengthen our presence in a fast-growing market and contribute to the development of Saudi Arabia's aviation sector together with a strong local partner such as Alnimr Alarabi.”
Meanwhile, Arwa Alalim, chairman of Alnimr Alarabi Holding, added that the combination of Alnimr Alarabi's investment capacity with Atitech's technical expertise will lead to the creation of a “sustainable, innovative and technologically advanced maintenance ecosystem.”
Atitech said it expects the upcoming MRO hub to meet international certification standards such as European Union Aviation Safety Agency, FAA and local aviation authority approval, with a strategy of attracting local and international operators along with building a workforce pipeline through technical training programs in the region.
The latest development in Saudi Arabia’s aftermarket is part of the country’s ongoing Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to build a long-term aviation footprint. Attracting international maintenance companies is a pillar of this plan.
In the long term, Saudi Arabia aspires to attract 120 million annual visitors to the country by 2030 and hopes to modernize its economy while diversifying from dependence on petroleum production.
The government has allocated 113 billion Saudi riyal ($30 billion) to invest in its aviation ecosystem, which includes development of domestic airports and airlines along with supporting infrastructure.
Read about Atitech’s new business aviation MRO venture in the November issue of Inside MRO.
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