THE Japanese government has extended the deadline for the sale of Kansai International Airport until July after no companies or consortiums agreed to meet the US$18 billion asking price.
The government is selling off the airport, which was completed on an artificial island in Osaka Bay in 1994, in an effort to reduce Japan’s national debt, but the price has put off potential investors.
A number of companies and consortiums have expressed interest in purchasing the 45-year lease on the airport, including: IFM and AMP Capital, the owners of Melbourne Airport; and Macquarie Capital, another Australian infrastructure investor, Changi Airport Group, and Ferrovial, a Spain-based multinational.
More than 19.4 million passengers used the airport for international and domestic flights in 2014, up nine per cent from the previous year, but the colossal construction costs incurred in the project have weighed heavily on the operator’s bottom line.
Nevertheless, the operator is pushing ahead with plans for a third terminal on the island, dedicated to LCCs, scheduled to open in 2017.
A hub for All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines and budget carrier Peach, Kansai International operates 780 flights a week to destinations in Asia and Australia, around 60 per week to Europe and the Middle East, and a further 80 to North America.
