Singapore buys half-stake in UK airport company
Singapore’s Changi Airport said today it had bought a 50% stake in a British airport and development company Alterra Partners and is bidding for airports in Oman and Cyprus.
Airport spokeswoman Angela Goh said it was also interested in bidding for the soon-to-be privatised Sydney airport "provided the investment opportunity makes commercial sense".
The government-owned Singapore Changi Airport Enterprise, or SCAE, now owns half of Alterra Partners. The rest of the company is owned by London-based Bechtel Enterprises Holdings.
SCAE has not revealed how much it paid for its share of Alterra.
The multibillion-dollar bids for the international airports by SCAE would be conducted by Alterra, said Goh.
Singapore’s Changi airport is famous for its efficiency. In 2000 28.6 million passengers and 173,000 planes passed through the airport.
"Changi’s substantial operations and concession management expertise will complement our development, financing, engineering and asset management experience," Jaime Guillen, president of Alterra, said in a statement.
SCAE is looking at expanding its investments offshore, and has an equity interest in Auckland Airport in New Zealand.
Alterra has stakes in three airports - Luton, San Jose International Airport in Costa Rica and Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru.
