ARCHIVED - Tender process at Corvera airport delayed by outgoing concession holder

Six bidders are reported to be interested in the Corvera airport management contract

No doubt encouraged by the confirmation of the intention to close down San Javier airport, as well as by the encouraging international tourism figures in the Region of Murcia over the last twelve months, no fewer than six bidders are being reported as having made their interest known in bidding for the concession to operate the new Region of Murcia International Airport when it eventually becomes available.

Among those expected to bid are the State-run company Aena, which belongs to the Ministry of Development, Ferrovial, which already manages various airports outside Spain including Heathrow and Gatwick, and the Canadian multinational Lavalin, which has been awarded the management contract at Castellón airport in the north of the Comunidad Valenciana.

However, it appears that the contract will not be put out to tender this month, as had originally been planned, due to the obstacles being placed in the way of the process by Aeromur, the outgoing concessionaire at Corvera, whose contract was rescinded at the end of December. The consortium led by Sacyr is refusing to hand over the inventory of the airport to the regional government of Murcia, and as a result is being accused of “obstructionism”, although it was unlikely from the onset that the company, headed-up by construction giant Sacyr, would not adopt a long-term view and conclude this particular chapter of its business activities in a conciliatory fashion thinking of the future.

He also ruled out the possibility of sending the Guardia Civil in to the airport as had occurred on a previous occasion, stating that this was not currently the “intention” of the regional government.

Sacyr maintain that a court order dating from October 2013 requires the inventory to be handed over only as a part of any “liquidation” of the management contract, and not in order to facilitate a new contract being put out to tender, and it now seems that the matter will have to be taken to the regional high court.

Regional minister for infrastructure, Francisco Bernabé, confirmed this week that his department had requested the documentation on two separate occasions and had not minced its words in a recent communication giving the company two weeks in which to hand over the required documents before beginning a further court procedure.

As a result of these delays the government has now accepted that it will not be possible to open Corvera airport this year, and at the same time Aeromur is intent on disputing ten other outstanding litigation cases with the regional government.

On Wednesday President Garre commented that “it appeared that somebody was trying to delay matters” and insisted that his government were doing everything possible to open the airport for commercial flights.

Meanwhile, discussions resume this week between the Regional government and Aena regarding the eventual transfer of flights from San Javier to Corvera, with the likelihood being that a window of two to six months will be established between the opening of Corvera and the closure of San Javier. Until now negotiations have always foundered on the stumbling block of the compensation to be paid to Aena for closing San Javier: Manuel Campos, the former regional minister for Development, stated in September that this could amount to 36 million euros.

However, other estimates suggest that a lower figure could be acceptable, especially if the Air Force’s parachute regiment which is currently based in Alcantarilla is moved to San Javier, as this would bring a further source of activity to the Mar Menor base when it is returned to the hands of the military and the land on which the parachute base is located could be transferred to Aena as part of the compensation package.

Francisco Bernabé, regional minister for infrastructure, said in the regional assembly on Wednesday morning that the bidding process would not begin until all of the details regarding the closure of San Javier had been finalized. The closure of San Javier was “vital” in order to ensure that the concession to operate Corvera would be economically viable and the transfer of operations would have to be perfectly co-ordinated to ensure no loss of service for passengers.

He confirmed that his department had been in constant negotiation with Aena for the last two months, tying down the details of the compensation demand from Aena, examining all the possible scenarios and working out how the desired aim of closing San Javier could be achieved in order to open Corvera airport as soon as possible.

However, he maintained that all of the details had to be tied down and confirmed before he would open the bidding process, part of which included obtaining the inventory from former concessionary Aeromur.

When questioned about the refusal of the San Javier workers to move, he commented that the workers would be offered jobs at Corvera, and whether they chose to take them or not would be each person to decide for themselves.