Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) is set to issue a 15 billion riyals ($4 billion) ten-year sukuk, its debut Islamic bond offering, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The transaction will carry a profit rate of 2.5 percent, the source added, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Investor meetings ahead of the sukuk sale began on January 10, a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency said at the time.

The sukuk is fully guaranteed by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and will be the first in a series of Islamic bonds from the authority to help fund the 27.1 billion riyals development of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. 

HSBC Saudi Arabia is the sole lead manager for the offering, having worked with GACA to structure the sukuk programme.

Saudi Arabia is currently implementing multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects and revamping many of its airports to cater for the growing number of passengers.   

Traffic at Saudi airports has reached 30 million passengers annually and is expected to double to 60 million over the next 10 years, according to past figures from GACA. - Reuters