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In 2016 Kansai Airport and Osaka Airport were successfully privatised and sold to a consortium composed of Vinci Airports, Orix Corporation and companies in Kansai region, marking Japan’s largest ever project finance deal.
The consortium took over the airports in April 2016 for operation for a period of 44 years.
Arup acted as the technical adviser for the state-owned New Kansai International Airport Company (NKIAC), responsible for undertaking sell-side technical due diligence of the two airports. We developed a comprehensive report covering all aspects of the airport business model including traffic and aeronautical revenues, commercial revenues and operating costs, airport planning and capital expenditure, as well as environmental appraisal and asset condition assessment.
The NKIAC concession was the first major infrastructure privatisation deal in Japan that was open to foreign investors. Aside from drawing from our extensive knowledge to provide integrated, in-depth advice and analysis, we also leveraged our global expertise of airport deals to present findings in a manner that was fitting for both Japanese and international investors.
The project was delivered through a collaborative, multidisciplinary and cross-regional team, including the business and investor advisory, airport development and environmental teams in the UK, the aviation team in Hong Kong as well as support from Tokyo office.
Together, Osaka and Kansai Airports are the second busiest airport group in Japan, with an annual traffic amounting to 38 million passengers in 2015.
The project was awarded Asia Pacific Deal of the Year award at the IJGlobal Awards 2016.
