Aeromur refuse to lie down quietly in the Corvera airport saga

Two new lawsuits have been brought against the government of Murcia

If anyone imagined when the regional government of Murcia announced on 23rd December that is was rescinding the existing Corvera airport management contract that the outgoing concessionaire would leave quietly, then they need to think again.

Any hopes that the government might have had of reaching a quickly negotiated settlement with Aeromur have now effectively been dashed, as it has come to light that not only has the consortium led by Sacyr re-activated eight lawsuits against the government, it has also initiated two more litigations.

Even as the terms of the new contract which is to be put out to tender are still being finalized, Aeromur has appealed against the decision made by the government on 23rd December, and in a separate move has also launched an appeal against the government’s unilateral decision to abandon the plans for a capital loan which had been the subject of negotiations almost throughout 2014. The basis for these appeals is that Aeromur claim to have met all the conditions established and done everything possible to bring forward the opening date of the International Airport of the Region of Murcia, as well as paying for calibration flights and supplying 9,000 documents to the different organizations whose permits are required before the Corvera airport can begin operating.

In theory, assuming that these two appeals are accepted by the courts, they could give rise to further negotiation between the two sides, but in practice this is somewhere between improbable and impossible. The government is now too far advanced down its new path of action for it to be realistic to turn back.

Among the litigation still outstanding from the previous disagreements are three appeals against the government’s allegations that Aermour had failed to meet construction deadlines and obtain the necessary financial credit, and against the fines which were imposed on the company for these reasons. These cases were effectively placed on hold on Valentine’s Day last year, when the government, at that time still led by president Ramón Luis Valcárcel, sought permission from the High Court to attempt to reach an agreement with Aeromur to reinstate the contract which had previously been rescinded in September 2013.

Other lawsuits which have now been reactivated following a ceasefire of almost a year include those related to the financial restructuring package requested by Aeromur and refused by the government, the original rescission of the contract in September 2013 and the repayment to the government of the 182-million-euro Aeromur debt for which the government acted as guarantor. The government is seeking the courts’ support in demanding guarantees that the amount concerned will be paid back, but the Aeromur standpoint is that without an airport to generate revenue there is no way to raise the required funds.

So, while the regional government of Murcia continues to plough its new furrow of re-opening the contract at Corvera to tender, there are still plenty of factors ensuring that the path ahead will be far from smooth. Ten outstanding lawsuits against Aeromur need to be sorted out before the rescission of the previous contract can truly be said to be a fait accompli, and the small matter of 50 million euros in compensation for construction and other costs which Aeromur have said they will be claiming is another potential obstacle.

Aeromur may have been removed from the future management of the airport at Corvera, but they still have plenty to say on the matter and the conflicts with the regional government are as far as ever from being resolved.

The regional government remain confident that the airport will be operational by the end of the year and ready to start operating commercial services in 2016, but with elections looming this year, and so many outstanding issues still to be resolved, the path to opening the airport is still fairly bumpy and it would be a foolhardy gesture to make any attempt at speculating on an opening date for Corvera.