United States – Nov 20/17 – Election Results Cast Doubt on Westchester Deal
Macquarie Infrastructure has emerged as preferred bidder for the rights to manage and develop Westchester County Airport (HPN), edging out the odds-on favorite Oaktree Capital Management. Oaktree made an uncontested offer for HPN late last year totaling USD$111m for a 40-year term. The outcome of recent local elections has cast doubt on the deal, as the Republican incumbent County Executive was unseated by a Democrat challenger opposed to HPN’s privatization.
Turkey – Nov 17/17 – Sabiha Gökçen Down-plays Competition Threat
Malaysia Airports Holdings, the sole shareholder of Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport’s operating company, is down-playing potential competition impacts from the new Istanbul airport. The initial phase of Istanbul’s third airport is scheduled to open in October 2018—on full build-out in 2028, it is designed to handle over 150m pax/year.
Brazil – Nov 14/17 – Voa Consortium Takes Over Five Sao Paulo Airports
The Voa Sao Paulo Consortium has assumed management and operation of five airports in Sao Paulo state, including Campinas Campo dos Amarais, Braganca Paulista, Jundiai and Itanhaem airports. The consortium will invest USD$30m in capital upgrades over the 30-year concession, with USD10.7m in improvements to be made within the first four years of the term.
Paraguay – Nov 11/17 – Last Ditch Effort Made to Salvage Asunción Concession
The public works ministry of Paraguay has made a last-ditch effort to salvage the US$149m tender process for private investment and operation of Asunción’s Silvio Pettirossi Int’l Airport, petitioning the country’s Comptroller to withdraw its recommendation to terminate the tender. The Comptroller maintains that the omitted prequalification phase was critical to the process, providing unfair advantage Sacyr (Spanish) and Agunsa (Chilean) consortium that immerged as preferred bidder.
Canada – Nov 09/17 – Toronto-Pearson Sets Sights on Global Hub Status
With Canada’s Liberal government quietly pondering its privatization options for Canadian airports, Toronto’s Pearson International Airport appears keen to explore private-sector participation as it aspires to become the next global hub. Key to this plan, the ambitious regional transit strategy aims to create a multimodal transportation hub with Pearson at its core.
Bermuda – Nov 07/17 – Aecon Acquired by China’s CCC Int’l Holding
Canada’s Aecon, prime contractor for the Bermuda airport PPP between the Government of Bermuda and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, will be acquired by Chinese conglomerate CCC International Holding, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co, for USD$1.5b, cash. Aecon say it will be “business as usual” going forward.
Chile – Nov 06/17 – Chile’s Tepual Airport Forges Ahead with Concession Bid
The concession bidding process for Puerto Montt El Tepual Airport is well underway, with competitive offers due by mid-Jan, and bids opened mid-Feb, 2018. The successful proponent will be responsible for investing in expansion and upgrading of the airport, including investments to increase passenger capacity from 1.5m to 3.0m passengers/year.
India – Nov 04/17 – India’s First Airport PPP Continues to Thrive
India’s first PPP-operated airport, Cochin International, has recorded another strong year of profit for FY-2016/17, driven by a 15.06% growth in passenger traffic. Under the company’s concession, the government holds a 32.42% stake in the venture.
Greece – Nov 03/17 – Fraport Commits Critical Capital to Greek Regionals
Thanks to the country’s prolonged financial crisis and severe austerity measures, Greece’s airports suffered neglect and a trickle of capital investment. The Fraport concession of 14 regional Greek airports aims to turn this tide, with targeted investment in key areas of airport infrastructure including resurfacing of the runways at all 14 airports, starting with Myconos.
Mexico – Nov 01/17 – ASUR Sees Strong Passenger Growth Despite Storm
Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) maintained its growth curve despite hurricane Maria, which severely impacted operations at Luis Munoz Marin Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the group’s latest acquisition. ASUR saw a third-quarter rise in passengers, due largely to the strong performance of its Mexican network airports, with Cancun leading the way.