AUSTRALIA. Cairns International Airport has been sold by the Queensland State Government to a consortium of investors for A$530 million (US$361 million). The consortium was advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and includes Westpac Banking Corporation, The Private Capital Group’s The Infrastructure Fund and Perron Investments, with Queensland Airports Limited as a specialist advisor.
Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle welcomed the news of the sale. “This is a great outcome for the people of Cairns and for the tourism industry,” she said. “Other airports that have been sold to private operators have gone from strength to strength in terms of their operational capacity and tourist numbers. I’m delighted that Cairns now has this same opportunity.”
“I offer my congratulations to the winning consortium and I wish them well as they position the airport business for future growth,” Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said.
Under the terms of the sale agreement, the consortium will operate the airport under a 99-year lease from the state government, which will continue to own the land and airport infrastructure. The sale of Cairns Airport follows the sale of the Mackay Airport in Queensland last month for A$208.8 million.
The government also completed the sale of its interest in Brisbane Airport last month for A$289.4 million. “The combined proceeds of the Cairns Airport, the Mackay Airport and the Brisbane Airport will see us achieve our target of generating more than A$1 billion from these asset sales,” Bligh said. “These sales demonstrate the underlying confidence of investors in Queensland’s prospects and our economy, even in these uncertain financial times.”
Cairns Airport is redeveloping its Domestic Terminal under a A$200 million (US$136 million) project. The first stage of the project opened last month.
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