diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 66e4b495daf..d63a572ed45 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ mvn-build:
   artifacts:
     paths:
       - "${MAVEN_PROJECT_DIR}/**/target/*.jar"
-      - "${MAVEN_PROJECT_DIR}/**/target/classes"
+      #- "${MAVEN_PROJECT_DIR}/**/target/classes"
       - "${MAVEN_PROJECT_DIR}/**/target/*.nbm"
       #- "${MAVEN_PROJECT_DIR}/**/target/site/jacoco/jacoco.csv"
       - "${MAVEN_PROJECT_DIR}/**/target/site"
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALVersion.java b/lib-gdal/src/main/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALVersion.java
index 43dd538a71e..a14cba19526 100644
--- a/lib-gdal/src/main/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALVersion.java
+++ b/lib-gdal/src/main/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALVersion.java
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
  */
 public enum GDALVersion {
 
-    GDAL_372_FULL("3.7.2", "3-7-2", true, new String[]{"gdalalljni"});
+    GDAL_3121_FULL("3.12.1", "3-12-1", true, new String[]{"gdalalljni"});
 
     static final String VERSION_NAME = "{version}";
     static final String DIR_NAME = "gdal-" + VERSION_NAME;
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ public static GDALVersion getGDALVersion() {
      */
     public static GDALVersion getInternalVersion() {
         if (INTERNAL_VERSION == null) {
-            INTERNAL_VERSION = GDAL_372_FULL;
+            INTERNAL_VERSION = GDAL_3121_FULL;
         }
         return INTERNAL_VERSION;
     }
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256 b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e23340083ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+3d211512f1a85a7013612c5a10c7d11b3103cf8d64b00975111beb9c4928cc50
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip
similarity index 82%
rename from lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip
rename to lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip
index c5dcbbd440b..ac65e603b26 100644
Binary files a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip and b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip differ
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256 b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256
deleted file mode 100644
index eab5361bc0a..00000000000
--- a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-996e2dd79ae29cb9be6a31c66de374e37363d5a51a370130f8ea2dee7174738b
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256 b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ca0abfa1d67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+db7b29998746e7688457cac948beb4e3665c8387a24eaab27854a97979aeb9fe
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-12-1.zip
similarity index 56%
rename from lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip
rename to lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-12-1.zip
index 5ebedfa5ce9..2404cab1de7 100644
Binary files a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip and b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-12-1.zip differ
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256 b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256
deleted file mode 100644
index d73359a964c..00000000000
--- a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-db77852e144a4c220b5cec5d0629dbbac845f110549f16e926dc6e8b86228730
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-7-2.zip b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-7-2.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 97262055e2f..00000000000
Binary files a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/aarch64/gdal-3-7-2.zip and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256 b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2a5c63f2684
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+be8b8cf05988994dae6e4ad51075f84e8871b7dfa2a9ab070f80603698fcb2d2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b2b7c1bde61
Binary files /dev/null and b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip differ
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256 b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256
deleted file mode 100644
index a9f6fa73621..00000000000
--- a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/MacOSX/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-677a90161a1b31d69ead1b5e1a97416dd99fea789b121c05a071185fb60b2023
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256 b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c531bb33cd4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-12-1.sha256
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+5ff56262dd62cdf3738b664ec9dc7622851488fd6657920ca0bde29fb4e74afd
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip
similarity index 73%
rename from lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip
rename to lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip
index 58d0ed58a74..9867e8f8f4a 100644
Binary files a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Linux/x64/gdal-3-7-2.zip and b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-12-1.zip differ
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256 b/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256
deleted file mode 100644
index 601215e53f9..00000000000
--- a/lib-gdal/src/main/resources/auxdata/gdal/Windows/x64/gdal-3-7-2.sha256
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-82b33acc8a7678b7f6bf0fccaa781049b6af8fcb31ffa3919d55f8ee31c476c6
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/test/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALDistributionInstallerTest.java b/lib-gdal/src/test/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALDistributionInstallerTest.java
index 0d310b1db37..1a8037c7c9e 100644
--- a/lib-gdal/src/test/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALDistributionInstallerTest.java
+++ b/lib-gdal/src/test/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALDistributionInstallerTest.java
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ public class GDALDistributionInstallerTest {
 
     private void testInstallBundleDistribution() {
         try {
-            final GDALVersion gdalVersion = GDALVersion.GDAL_372_FULL;
+            final GDALVersion gdalVersion = GDALVersion.GDAL_3121_FULL;
             GDALDistributionInstaller.setupDistribution(gdalVersion);
             assertTrue(Files.exists(AbstractGDALTest.getExpectedNativeLibrariesRootFolderPath()));
             assertTrue(Files.exists(GDALVersionTest.getExpectedGDALVersionLocation(gdalVersion)));
diff --git a/lib-gdal/src/test/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALLoaderTest.java b/lib-gdal/src/test/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALLoaderTest.java
index 69dd7b1a924..8b5c02624b5 100644
--- a/lib-gdal/src/test/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALLoaderTest.java
+++ b/lib-gdal/src/test/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/GDALLoaderTest.java
@@ -111,8 +111,8 @@ public void testSyncGDALInitialisation(){
         assertNotNull(TEST_GDAL_LOADER);
         try {
             Path gdalRootFolderPath = getExpectedNativeLibrariesRootFolderPath();
-            //remove gdal folder
-            if(Files.exists(gdalRootFolderPath)){
+            //remove gdal folder when not itialised to force the bundle deploy during this test
+            if(TEST_GDAL_LOADER.isNotInitialised() && Files.exists(gdalRootFolderPath)){
                 FileUtils.deleteTree(gdalRootFolderPath.toFile());
             }
 
diff --git a/snap-gdal-reader/src/main/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/reader/plugins/SNAPTiffDriverProductReaderPlugIn.java b/snap-gdal-reader/src/main/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/reader/plugins/SNAPTiffDriverProductReaderPlugIn.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f673ddfb60c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/snap-gdal-reader/src/main/java/org/esa/snap/dataio/gdal/reader/plugins/SNAPTiffDriverProductReaderPlugIn.java
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package org.esa.snap.dataio.gdal.reader.plugins;
+
+import org.esa.snap.core.dataio.DecodeQualification;
+
+/**
+ * Reader plugin for products using the GDAL library.
+ *
+ * @author Jean Coravu
+ */
+public class SNAPTiffDriverProductReaderPlugIn extends AbstractDriverProductReaderPlugIn {
+
+    public SNAPTiffDriverProductReaderPlugIn() {
+        // make a difference between GDAL GeoTIFF and SNAP GeoTIFF reader
+        // in case this driver is enabled from GDAL
+        super("SNAP_TIFF", "SNAP GeoTIFF (GDAL)");
+
+        addExtension(".tif");
+        addExtension(".tiff");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public DecodeQualification getDecodeQualification(Object input) {
+        final DecodeQualification qualification = super.getDecodeQualification(input);
+        if (qualification == DecodeQualification.UNABLE) {
+            return qualification;
+        }
+        return DecodeQualification.SUITABLE;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/snap-gdal-reader/src/main/resources/META-INF/services/org.esa.snap.core.dataio.ProductReaderPlugIn b/snap-gdal-reader/src/main/resources/META-INF/services/org.esa.snap.core.dataio.ProductReaderPlugIn
index ed7d0c89f32..b5fc721f709 100644
--- a/snap-gdal-reader/src/main/resources/META-INF/services/org.esa.snap.core.dataio.ProductReaderPlugIn
+++ b/snap-gdal-reader/src/main/resources/META-INF/services/org.esa.snap.core.dataio.ProductReaderPlugIn
@@ -14,4 +14,5 @@ org.esa.snap.dataio.gdal.reader.plugins.RSTDriverProductReaderPlugIn
 org.esa.snap.dataio.gdal.reader.plugins.SAGADriverProductReaderPlugIn
 org.esa.snap.dataio.gdal.reader.plugins.SGIDriverProductReaderPlugIn
 org.esa.snap.dataio.gdal.reader.plugins.GTiffDriverProductReaderPlugIn
-org.esa.snap.dataio.gdal.reader.plugins.JP2OpenJPEGDriverProductReaderPlugIn
\ No newline at end of file
+org.esa.snap.dataio.gdal.reader.plugins.JP2OpenJPEGDriverProductReaderPlugIn
+org.esa.snap.dataio.gdal.reader.plugins.SNAPTiffDriverProductReaderPlugIn
\ No newline at end of file