An affiliate of French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux has won a contract for exclusive advertising rights in all of Saudi Arabia's 26 airports, the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority (GACA) said on Saturday.

The ten-year deal between GACA and JCDecaux-ATA follows recent efforts by authorities to upgrade its airports which are under pressure mainly from a growing number of about 3 million Muslim pilgrims and 8 million foreign expatriate workers.

JCDecaux holds 60 per cent in the JCDecaux-ATA and private Saudi group ATA holds the remaining 40 per cent. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

GACA said 45 million passengers used Saudi airports in 2009, with nearly 88 per cent of them passing through the kingdom's four international airports Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah.

Because it applies a strict version of Islam, Saudi authorities ban advertising posters from showing pictures deemed as indecent or promoting the consumption of alcohol, banned in the kingdom.-Reuters