50-50 joint venture agreement for Saudi Arabia. Join discussion...

Nearly $180 billion (Dh661bn) in private capital is available for investment in airports worldwide even as the economic crisis continues to impact airport privatisation, according to the latest report by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa). The report stated that Carlyle Group, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group concluded in a joint report that $180bn in private capital is still available for investment in airports, highways and other transportation infrastructure. Join discussion...

A consortium of Fraport, Russian state bank VTB and Greek Horizon Air Investments has been named preferred bidder for Russia's Pulkovo airport, Fraport said on Thursday. The consortium beat bids by aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element in partnership with Singapore's Changi airport and another group led by Flughafen Wien and Leader, a local investment house founded by Gazprom. Join discussion...

Billionaire Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element, Germany's Fraport and Flughafen Wien are among the companies bidding for a 40.2 billion ruble ($1.28 billion) contract to upgrade St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport. Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, is bidding with VTB Europe, the London-based investment unit of VTB Group, to overhaul and operate for 30 years Russia's largest airport outside Moscow, the municipal government said Thursday in announcing the three bidding groups. Join discussion...

Australia’s Macquarie Airports Management Ltd. put Bristol International Airport up for sale and has approached a number of potential buyers, the Sunday Times reported, without saying where it got the information. Possible bidders include Prudential’s M&G Group Plc and Fortis, which recently bought Belfast’s George Best airport, according to the newspaper. Join discussion...

The General Authority of Civil Aviation, GACA, is to put up for bids the project of the new Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madina through the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) system. The project involves the construction of terminals and the development of runways. Join discussion...

Macquarie Airports (MAP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Kerrie Mather said on Monday her infrastructure fund would not pursue acquisitions for the foreseeable future, as it focuses on boosting revenue from its existing portfolio, pares debt and buys back its own shares. Join discussion...

THE Queensland Government has gone outside its normal budget processes six weeks before the state budget is to be brought down by putting its entire interest in airports on the market to fund hospital expansions. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday announced the sale of Cairns, Mackay and Mt Isa airports, as well as the state Government's 12 per cent stake in Brisbane Airport, to fund the construction of a new hospital in Mackay and a major upgrading of the Cairns Hospital. Join discussion...

Six teams — one including some of the same players who paid $1.82 billion to lease the Chicago Skyway — will vie for the right to make Midway Airport the nation’s first privately-run commercial airport. Airport experts and Wall Street giants joined the competition for a 50-plus-year concession that could generate as much as $3 billion to shore up city pensions and rebuild Chicago’s aging infrastructure. Join discussion...

Chicago has announced plans to privatize its second-largest commercial airport, Midway Airport, through a lease being offered to private investors under a public-private partnership. In a move seen as advancing yet further the agenda of turning over pieces of the U.S. public infrastructure to private profiteers, Mayor Richard Daley said plans are being made to turn Midway into the nation's first privately run airport under a PPP. Join discussion...