On track in Phoenix
The PHX Sky Train at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is set to open to the public on April 8 . The electrically-powered Automated People Mover will transport passengers between the METRO Light rail , East Economy Parking and Terminal 4 , which serves 80 % of Sky Harbor ’ s passengers . Aviation director , Danny Murphy , said : “ We are especially proud that the environmentally-friendly project has achieved a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) Gold certification from the US Green Building Council .” The system will be extended to serve all of Sky Harbor ’ s terminals by early 2015 .
LaGuardia interest hots up
A TAV Airports / Aéroports de Paris ( ADP ) joint venture is thought to be among five bidders to have issued preliminary submissions for the $ 3.6 billion project to replace the central terminal building at New York – LaGuardia .
TAV Airports has made no secret of its interest in bidding to build and operate the new terminal , although LaGuardia operator , the Port of New York and New Jersey ( PANYNJ ) remains tight lipped about interested parties .
“ The Port Authority is reviewing five qualification submissions from companies for the LaGuardia Airport Central Terminal Building project , but has not yet finalised the process . We will make further information available at the appropriate time ,” spokesman , Ron Marsico , told Airport World .
When ADP acquired a 38 % stake in TAV Airports early last year , TAV ’ s chief strategy officer , Waleed Youssef , declared : “ Our new strategic partner can add geographic depth to our operation as , up until now , our focus has primarily been on emerging markets in the Middle East , North Africa and former CIS states .”
NEWS
Battle on for Galeão
Concerns that the winning bidders paid way over the top for their concessions in the first wave of airport privatisations in Brazil does not appear to have put off the Schiphol Group or Aéroports de Paris , which are set to form a consortium to bid for Rio de Janeiro – Galeão International Airport .
Their potential partners in the bid for the 30-year concession up for grabs are Brazilian companies Carioca Engenharia and Gp Investimentos . Brazilian airport operator , Infraero , would maintain a 49 % stake .
New ADP chairman , Augustin de Romanet has publicly expressed an interest in acquiring a shareholding in Galeão , while Schiphol Group president and CEO , Jos Nijhuis , recently revealed his company ’ s interest during a Dutch TV interview .
Brazil wants to sell 51 % stakes in Galeão and Belo Horizonte ’ s Confins Airport to operators who can upgrade them in time for the 2014 football World Cup football tournament and the 2016 Olympic Games .
However , the $ 3.1 billion asking price and high figures received for São Paul – Guarulhos ($ 9.4 billion ) Campinas – Viracopos ($ 2.2 billion ) and Brasilia ($ 2.6 billon ) on top of the huge investments required was expected to deter bidders .
All change at Abertis
Abertis Airports , which earlier this year saw the Bolivian government nationalise its 90 % owned airport concessions company SABSA , has sold Cardiff Airport to the Welsh government for € 61.2 million .
The sale follows protracted negotiations with airport operator TBI – an Abertis subsidiary – and is viewed by some as the first move in the disposal of its airport assets .
Abertis is believed to want to sell its entire airport division to one buyer , but with interests in the UK ( Belfast , Luton ), Europe ( Stockholm Skavsta ) and the US ( Orlando Sanford ), a single transaction seems unlikely .
Meanwhile , Abertis insists that it will back the Bolivian government ’ s decision to privatise SABSA – and effectively the operation of La Paz , Santa Cruz and Cochabamba airports – as long as it is duly compensated .
“ The company is prepared to negotiate appropriate compensation , but rejects the accusations that it has failed to fulfill investment commitments in Bolivia , where SABSA has invested $ 12.6 million in CAPEX at all three airports since 2005 ,” said a statement .
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Canberra Airport is confident that its newly opened western concourse will boost its capacity by 10mppa and attract international flights to Australia ’ s capital city gateway . The facility , which is linked to the terminal ’ s southern concourse by a three-storey glass atrium , adds five airbridges and 12 check-in desks .
Former Air Berlin head , Hartmut Mehdorn , is the new chief of Berlin-Brandenburg Airport . Transport Minister , Peter Ramsauer , said Mehdorn ’ s appointment was “ an important step ” in putting the much-delayed airport on the path to success .
The new airport will replace the city ’ s two existing airports , Tegel and Schönefeld .
Heathrow Airport has warned the UK ’ s Airports Commission that airports such as Dubai and Istanbul are already making major investments that will exploit the UK ’ s hub capacity constraints . In its submission to the Airports Commission , the airport states : “ The current political and planning landscape means that it will likely be 2024 before significant additional hub capacity could be operational in the UK , with Heathrow being the location where this can be delivered the quickest . By then the UK ’ s hub will have been capacity constrained for two decades and a significant proportion of the unserved hub demand will have been lost , either for good , or for the very long-term until it can be recaptured .”
With the clock running down to the 2015 end of the current concession , Chile has issued a prequalification call to international investors interested in participating in operating and developing Santiago ’ s Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport . The successful consortium will be expected to construct a new international terminal and upgrade the domestic terminal in return for a 15-year concession .
AIRPORT WORLD / APRIL-MAY 2013
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