Corvera airport management contract to be put back out to tender

The private Murcia airport will seek new management in 2015

Following the failure of Aeromur representatives to convince the regional government at a last-ditch meeting on Monday evening that they would be able to guarantee repayment of the 182-million-euro loan which was underwritten by the government of the Region of Murcia, the management contract at the new Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera is to be put out to tender again.

After Monday’s meeting the regional minister for Public Works and Development, Francisco Bernabé, reported that there was “nothing new” on the table and predicted that a decision could be made within hours. On Tuesday morning that forecast was borne out when spokesman José Gabriel Ruiz explained at a press conference following the weekly regional government cabinet meeting, that Aeromur have failed to present a viable proposal and that as a result the new tender process will begin as soon as possible.

The regional government statement reports cabinet agreement that as the former concessionary ”has failed to offer any measures guaranteeing repayment of the outstanding loan” that negotiations “ are deemed to be concluded” and will now request that the legal department of the regional government reactivate the judicial processes which had been suspended when agreement was reached with the former concessionary to seek a long-term solution to the dispute between the two parties over the failure to open the airport within the agreed timescale.

In 2010 Aeromur had borrowed 200 million euros (182 million drawn down) with which to complete and open the airport at Corvera, the regional government under Ramón Luis Valcárcel agreeing to guarantee the loan. When Aeromur failed to open the airport within the specified period the regional government effectively “sacked “ them, rescinding the contract, however, after the whole situation threatened to disintegrate into a prolonged legal battle, Sr Valcárcel took the decision to give the concessionary more time to resolve their financial situation and continue the processes to open the airport. In the meantime, his government were forced to take on the loan they had guaranteed.

Since then Sr Valcárcel has taken up a new position in Brussels and the new regional premier, Alberto Garre, has been forced to seek an alternative solution, as after a year of negotiations, Aeromur appear to be unable to guarantee the loan will be repaid and interest is now due at the rate of 22,000 euros a day.

It is almost certain that Aena, the State-owned company which runs all of the commercial airports currently operative in Spain, will be one of the bidders in one guise or another, although in recent weeks government statements have indicated that at least two bids are expected.

Aeromur had been given until 12th December to present a feasible plan for repayment of the loan, but despite the deadline being extended have not managed to convince the regional government that they are able to do so. Their main proposals consisted either of going ahead with a proposed capital loan from the government, a plan over which severe doubts have been cast by recent statements made by the European Commission in Brussels, or of using future revenue at the airport to pay back the amount over a 30-year period.

Meanwhile, reaction from Aeromur has not been slow in forthcoming.

In a statement directed at the Region of Murcia as a whole, issued on Tuesday morning, the consortium claims that everything possible has been done to ensure that the 182-million-euro debt is repaid, and that an offer has been made to do so by a series of monthly or annual payments which the government has not been willing to accept. The feasibility of this repayment plan, Aeromur argues, is backed by the often referred-to report compiled by Deloitte at the behest of the Chamber of Commerce in Murcia.

As has been reported many times, the figures quoted in this report took into consideration the construction of key macro-projects which have failed to materialize: Marina de Cope, which would have implied the construction of a sporting and leisure super-complex has been declared illegal as the proposed construction site fell within land carrying a natural protection status ( although developers are still pushing for a revised version) and the Paramount park project has failed to attract the desired investment for construction to begin. According to the original licence terms, the park should have been ready to open in Summer of 2015, bringing millions of tourists to the region, via the new airport.

The statement also demands that when a new concessionary is appointed the first requirement should be that it too is required to provide a 182-million-euro guarantee, on the grounds that if the regional government fails to stipulate this as a condition it will be “committing fraud”.

The bulk of the statement consists of a comparison between the rejected option of accepting the Aeromur plan and the chosen course of action, i.e. putting the contract back out to tender, with the emphasis being on the argument that to end the association with Aeromur is a mistake.

The reasons offered include the assertions that the new concessionary will have twelve years fewer to pay back the debt, the regional government will have to compensate Aeromur for the cancellation of the contract, the airport certification process will have to begin again, delaying the opening of Corvera, and the regional government will not be allowed to remove the 182-million-euro debt from its books.

With the Christmas break about to start, the regional government now have to dislodge Aeromur from the airport and initiate the judicial processes which were put on hold before beginning a new bidding process to adjudicate the concession once again.

This is likely to take some time and Aeromur appear to have no intention of going away quietly, so the arguments look likely to rumble on into 2015, providing there is no sudden cash injection to give the government the guarantees it requires.

Realistically, it’s unlikely that the airport will open in 2015, the most likely timing now being Spring 2016, co-inciding with the Easter holiday season, although doubtless the regional government will be hoping to have the new concessionary adjudicated and the uncertainty surrounding the future of Corvera airport cleared up well before the local elections in May 2015.

So for the moment, summer flights will be landing in the state operated San Javier airport.

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