Argentina has awarded a 30-year concession to operate 33 airports to the Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 consortium, which includes Milan Airport operator SEA and US-based ground-handling agent Ogden Aviation Services. The consortium will pay $171 million a year to operate the airports, which the Government will hand over on 13 February.
Ogden, SEA and Argentina's Corporacion America each hold a one-third stake in the winning consortium, which is required to invest $2.04 billion in improving airport services and capacity. The bulk of this is expected to be spent on Buenos Aires' Ezeiza International and Aeroparque airports.
In December, the International Air Transport Association criticised the airport-privatisation plans, arguing that they would convert "a public monopoly into a private one", and lead to higher fees.
Source: Flight International