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The privatisation process has attracted a who’s who of the airport investment world |
PUERTO RICO. The privatisation process for San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport has attracted 12 consortia, including some of the leading names in airport infrastructure and investment worldwide.
The privatisation is among the first to be launched under a scheme by the US Federal Aviation Administration.
The bidders include Fraport in association with Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners; GMR and Incheon International Airport Corp; Puerto Rico Gateway Group including GE Capital Aviation, Allegheny County Airport Authority, TIAA-CREF, OpTrust and retail concessions developer Airmall; AENA International; TAV Airports Holding; Grupo Aeropuertos Avance (Macquarie with Ferrovial); Agunsa (Agencias Universales); a consortium involving Zürich Airport, PSP Investments, Camargo Correa and Gestion e Ingenieria IDC; Corporación America (operator of key airports in Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and Armenia); Mexican airport authority ASUR with Highstar Capital; Mexican airports group OMA; and Advent International.
The process has reached the Request for Qualifications stage, and the level of interest has proved highly encouraging according to the government.
According to specialist Americas travel retail title Travel Markets Insider, the planned expansion at San Juan Airport would double the existing passenger capacity. It also quoted local media as saying the winning bidder would provide up to US$1 billion in capital up-front plus a big investment over the lifetime of the concession.
A short-list will now be drawn up by 31 August, with the chosen companies then making full bids for a contract likely to run for 40-50 years, according to local reports.
Travel Markets Insider reported that the airport handled 8.57 million passengers in 2010, a +3.9% rise over 2009, but well down on the record year of 2005, when it handled 10.77 million passengers.
NOTE: The Moodie Report works closely with Travel Markets Insider. To subscribe to this excellent specialist publication about travel retail in the Americas please e-mail Lois Pasternak at editor@travelmarketsinsider.net
