Spanish opposition criticizes tender for airports

Spain’s opposition People’s Party, which polls indicate will win elections on Nov. 20, criticized the government’s tender to sell management contracts for Madrid and Barcelona airports, saying the timetable is “feverish.”“It’s not acceptable to rush through the biggest asset sale as they are doing with the privatization of Aena,” Andres Ayala, the PP’s infrastructure spokesman, told lawmakers yesterday, according to an e-mailed statement from the party. ‘It is being done at the worst moment.’’Spain’s government has set a deadline of Oct. 31 for companies including Ferrovial SA (FER) to present bids for the countries’ two largest airports as it aims to reduce the amount of debt it needs to issue this year. The Socialist government wants to raise at least 3.7 billion euros ($5.1 billion) from the management contract for Madrid Barajas airport and 1.6 billion euros from Barcelona El Prat.The PP, which privatized state assets when it governed in the eight years through 2004, would win 44.8 percent of the vote if elections were held now, giving Spanish opposition leader Mariano Rajoy an outright majority in Parliament, the newspaper El Pais reported Sept. 12, citing a poll. The Socialists would win 30.7 percent, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.Ferrovial SA, the owner of London’s Heathrow airport, has teamed up with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Australia’s Industry Funds Management Pty Ltd. and Infinity Investments of Abu Dhabi for its offer to run both airports, while Acciona SA (ANA) is allied to Frankfurt airport operator Fraport AG.A group led by Fomento de Construcciones & Contratas SA and including Singapore’s Changi Airport Group and Munich-based Siemens AG (SIE) is also bidding for the two hubs, as is GMR Infrastructure Ltd. (GMRI) of India and a team including Aeroports de Paris (ADP) and Global Infrastructure Partners of the U.S.Grupo San Jose is bidding solely for Madrid Barajas, while Barcelona-based Abertis Infraestructuras SA (ABE) wants to run only its home city’s hub.