Fraport Slovenia, the operator of Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, has annulled a tender for the construction of its new multi million euro terminal, despite receiving six bids from contractors and entering talks with three shortlisted finalists. The airport operator will now repeat tender procedures. The decision was made after the National Review Commission for Reviewing Public Procurement Award Procedures introduced new requirements for all capital project tenders. The procedure will now be repeated in line with the new rules outlined by the Commission. The six applicants that took part in the tender included Austria’s Strabag, a joint bid by Croatia’s GP KRK and Slovenia’s CBE, as well as several joint applications by Slovenian companies including Pomgrad, GGD, GIC Gradnja, Elcom, Kolektor Koling, CGP, VG5 and Remont. Ljubljana Airport previously said that construction of its new passenger terminal should commence in late spring, with the new facility to be completed by the end of 2020, in time for Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2021.
Having failed repeatedly to partially privatise the Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports, with sweetening of conditions proving inadequate for investment, the Union government has changed tack and opted for the public private partnership (PPP) model to redevelop the Ahmedabad, Jaipur and four other airports.
More than 12 years after the Delhi and Mumbai airports were privatised, the facilities at Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, Trivandrum and Guwahati would be going under the hammer in the coming weeks, a move that has been welcomed by experts. “We should see good participation from both domestic and international players,” says Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, director and practice lead at CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory.
Under the new framework the ministry of civil aviation has devised, a longer concession period of 50 years is being offered to prospective developers for greater certainty of returns, besides the elimination of the contentious revenue-sharing bidding criterion. In a departure from the first round of airport privatisation, the bids would be assessed on the basis of the highest monthly per-passenger fee offered to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Airport operators have often complained of the high fund outgo under the revenue-sharing model as it is based on gross revenue instead of profits, with the revenues to be shared in case of losses as well. It also limits the operators’ capacity to invest in expansion work. On the other hand, the passenger fee would be decided at the time the contract is awarded, continuing over a five-year period. “A longer concession tenure and replacement of the revenue-sharing parameter would make the projects more viable. This should help address the need to build world-class airports in non-metro cities,” holds Satyan Nayar, general secretary of the Association of Private Airport Operators. The six airports chosen for redevelopment could attract over $1-bn investment, it is estimated. “Each of the airports needs an investment of $200 mn,” Padmanabhan points out. Several domestic and overseas investment entities including infrastructure funds are said to be keen on the upcoming investment opportunity. Significantly, the GVK group which operates the Mumbai airport had shown interest in redeveloping the Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports under the old tender. “We would be interested in participating in the bids. We are in the process of evaluating the bid conditions,” says a private airport developer. In an attempt to fast-track the process, the Centre is looking to award the contracts by February-end. However, with the general elections scheduled for May this year, this may prove a tall ask — CAPA India has described the government’s timeline for airport privatisation as aggressive.
The consultancy firm had highlighted that India’s aviation sector needs investment to the tune of $45 bn by 2030. With India being the world’s fastest growing aviation market, its airports are grappling with serious capacity constraints. According to the AAI, 11 of the 25 major airports have been handling more passengers than their designed capacity. And many other airports would have breached their capacity limits in the next five years.
Édgar Melgarejo, titular de la Dirección Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil (DINAC), ha informado que todas las tiendas ubicadas actualmente en el Aeropuerto Internacional Silvio Pettirossi tendrán que abandonar sus locales, debido a que se llevará a cabo una reorganización de los espacios comerciales de la terminal. Más adelante indicó que se llevarán a cabo nuevas licitaciones para las concesiones de los locales para adecuar los cánones con la facturación real.
“Tenemos que buscar la posibilidad de tener un solo duty free, de tener un VIP realmente que sirva como tal, porque hoy tenemos una enorme demanda insatisfecha de pasajeros en tránsito, y entonces tenemos que mejorar muchísimo los servicios. En los locales gastronómicos no se encuentra casi nada, tengo quejas de pasajeros en tránsito. Muchas empresas quieren venir a operar y no tenemos las condiciones, pésimos servicios”, cuestionó Melgarejo.
● 195.2 million passengers travelled through all assets operated by VINCI Airports in 2018 (this total is expected to reach 240 million passengers after integrating London Gatwick1) ● 6.8% passenger traffic growth versus 2017 on a like-for-like network base ● The solid upward trends in traffic continued until the end of the year (7.2% growth in Q4) ● New all-time-high passenger numbers in Portugal (55 million), Cambodia (10 million), Lyon-Saint Exupéry (11 million) and Nantes Atlantique (6 million) over the full year.
VINCI Airports’ network handled close to 48 million passengers in Q4 2018 (7.2% more than in Q4 2017 on a like-for-like network base) and a total of 195.2 million passengers in FY 2018 (6.8% more than in 2017).
Europe
Traffic at the 10 assets operated by VINCI Airports in Portugal rose 6.2% to 12.4 million passengers in Q4 2018. These airports had cleared the 50 million passenger milestone in 2017, and solid 6.8% growth pushed the total past the 55 million passenger mark in 2018. Traffic at the Lisbon hub grew by 8.9% year on year to an all-time-high 29 million notwithstanding space limitations. This was the biggest leap in the VINCI Airports network in 2018. To be able to accommodate traffic growth until the concession expires in 2062, VINCI Airports and the Portuguese government signed on 8 January 2019, an agreement to finance the expansion of Lisbon’s airport capacity, both by the extension of the existing Lisbon airport and the opening of a new civil airport in Montijo, 25 kilometres away from the city center. The airport in Porto posted the highest year-on-year traffic growth rate in the country (10.7% to 11.9 million passengers).
In France, traffic at the 12 airports under VINCI Airports management soared 10.4% to 4.6 million passengers in Q4. Over the full year, these airports catered to 19.9 million passengers, i.e. 9.4% more than in 2017. Traffic at Lyon-Saint Exupéry and Lyon-Bron airports rose 7.4% in 2018, pushing the total past the 11 million passenger mark. The more than 25 new lines, including flights between Lyon and Tel Aviv, Corfu, Catania and Malaga, explain the bulk of this trend. Traffic at Nantes Atlantique Airport increased by 12.9% in 2018 compared to 2017, reaching the 6 million passenger mark, as a result of the opening of 14 new lines. Rennes Bretagne airport posted record-level 18.3% growth in 2018, mirroring a sharp rise in domestic traffic (in particular the easyJet line to Lyon). Traffic in Toulon–Hyères soared 13.1% as Air France started providing services to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
In the United Kingdom, Belfast International Airport (which joined VINCI Airports’ network in September 2018) posted a 13.6% traffic leap in Q4, confirming the British market’s dynamism. This airport handled almost 6.3 million passengers from January to December 2018, i.e. 7.5% more than in 2017.
Stockholm Skavsta Airport in Sweden, which also joined the network in September 2018, posted 2.1% growth in Q4 and 3.9% over the full year.
In Serbia, traffic in Q4 2018 grew by 2.0% to 1.2 million passengers at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport, which VINCI Airports took over at the end of December 2018. Over the full year, traffic at the airport rose by 5.4% to 5.6 million passengers. This solid performance mirrors the capital city’s vitality.
Americas
In the United States, traffic at the five airports that VINCI Airports has been operating under concession or management contracts since September 2018 reached 2.4 million passengers in Q4 2018 (up 5.6% compared to Q4 2017). Over 9.5 million passengers travelled through these five airports from January to December 2018 (8.7% more than in 2017).
Traffic at Santiago-Arturo Merino Benítez Airport in Chile grew by 8.5% to 6.3 million passengers in Q4 2018, and by 8.8% to 23.3 million passengers over 2018, fuelled by domestic travel and new intercontinental lines including Emirates services to Dubai.
In Brazil, traffic at the airport in Salvador increased by 7.5% in Q4. VINCI Airports has been operating this airport since January 2018, and it catered to 8 million passengers over the past 12 months, posting 4.6% year-on-year growth. The year’s highlights here included new symbolic lines such as Miami (LATAM Airlines), Santiago de Chile (Gol) and Panama City (Copa).
Traffic at VINCI Airports’ six bases in the Dominican Republic was stable (up 0.3%) at 1.2 million passengers in Q4 2018. In spite of a difficult start to the year marked by the bankruptcy of three airlines, these airports only declined by 2.0% in 2018. VINCI Airports’ marketing campaigns targeting airlines have attracted 20 new lines, which are expected to spur fresh growth starting in 2019.
Daniel Oduber Quiros Airport in the city of Liberia, Costa Rica, which joined the VINCI Airports network very recently, posted 8.4% growth in Q4 and 3.4% growth in FY 2018.
Asia
The three airports in the Kansai region in Japan handled 12.6 million passengers in Q4 2018, i.e. 5.4% more than in a Q4 2017, even though Kansai International Airport was closed for about 10 days in September, in the wake of Typhoon Jebi. Total traffic at these three airports amounted to 48.3 million passengers in 2018 (3.7% more than in 2017).
Traffic at VINCI Airports’ three bases in Cambodia remained on the strong upward trend it has been on since last January. A total of 2.9 million passengers travelled through these airports from October to December 2018 (17.1% more than in Q4 2018), pushing the full-year figure past the 10 million passenger mark for the first time ever, to 10.6 million (up 20.1% year on year). These figures in particular reflect an upsurge in demand from China and Thailand, and the fact that eight new lines were opened. Growth was especially brisk in Phnom Penh (up 27.9%), which cleared the 5 million passenger milestone to reach 5.4 million. Traffic at Sihanoukville International Airport, which serves Cambodia’s leading seaside resort, leapt 92.6% in 2018, mirroring the region’s soaring popularity among national and other Asian tourists.
1 On 27 December 2018, VINCI Airports signed an agreement to acquire 50.01% of London Gatwick Airport. This operation is expected to be completed during the first half of 2019.
