Consortiums eye 49% stake in Soekarno-Hatta
Consortiums eye 49% stake in Soekarno-Hatta
JAKARTA (JP): Two foreign international airport consortiums are eying a 49 percent stake in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, an official at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said on Thursday.
The director general of air communications, Soenaryo Yosopratomo, said the two were the consortium of Schiphol Airport of the Netherlands and the British Airport Authority, and the consortium of Aeroport de Paris and Germany's GTM.
"Negotiations with both consortiums are still in progress," he said during a meeting with House of Representatives Commission IV for infrastructure and transportation affairs.
Meanwhile, AP news agency reported that Pantares, which is a consortium of Frankfurt airport and Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, is planning to launch a bid for a 49 percent stake in Soekarno- Hatta.
"More than 100 airports worldwide are poised for privatization. Pantares is confident it will participate to an appropriate degree," the news agency quoted both airports as saying in a joint statement.
Frankfurt airport, continental Europe's busiest, is teaming up with Schiphol to develop services ranging from retailing to information technology in the hotly contested global airport market, the news agency said.
The new alliance involves cooperation in airport management -- including retailing, aviation ground handling and cargo, facility management and information and communications technology, AP reported.
By forming an alliance, the two European hubs will save money on overlapping activities, increase profits and speed up privatization plans, Schiphol airport spokesman Ruud Wever said in Amsterdam.
Preparations for the alliance will start in the new year when the airports begin jointly developing software and products, he said.
The "first alliance between two important international airports" expands on a year-old cooperation accord between Schiphol, Europe's fourth-largest airport, and its longtime rival in Frankfurt that was aimed at boosting their global market share, a joint statement said.
Wever said cooperation between airports was a logical progression in the industry as airlines increasingly build global alliances to cut costs and maintain market share. (jsk/tnt)