Abu Dhabi-led grouping eyes exit from QAIA project
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An Abu Dhabi-led consortium investing US$850 million to expand Jordan’s main airport is looking to exit a 25-year concession to manage the facility, preferring to cash in investment rather than stay involved for coming years.
Three banking sources were reported by Reuters stating that Airport International Group (AIG), formed of French, Greek and Jordanian firms to expand the Queen Alia International Airport with an additional terminal, had approached banks to advise on a possible sale.
The consortium was awarded a 25-year build-operate-transfer (BoT) concession by the Jordanian government in 2007. The new terminal is expected to open in February, increasing capacity nearly three times to nine million passengers a year.
“They (the consortium members) have finished almost all the work and as financial investors, are looking to get out of the investment. The process is still at an initial stage and it will be a while before any deal is reached,” said one of the sources.
Yet the potential withdrawal of an Abu Dhabi-led consortium is likely to be a sensitive development given the UAE’s support for Jordan, a monarchy which is grappling with dwindling foreign investment in its ailing economy, amid the Arab Spring unrest.
The AIG consortium is led by Abu Dhabi-owned Invest AD, which has a 38 percent stake, and Kuwait’s Noor Financial Investment Co , with a 24 percent ownership. Other partners include Jordan’s Edgo Group, Greek construction firm J.P. Avax , J&P Overseas Ltd and a unit of France’s Aeroports de Paris Group .