"Business Contract to Be Signed Next Year... Virtually the 15th Airport from Building Operation to Commercial Facility Attraction"
On the 4th (local time), Son Chang-wan, President of Korea Airports Corporation, and Jose Gabriel Martinez Castro, Minister of Transportation of Ecuador, inspected the new terminal construction site at Manta Airport in Ecuador. In the background, the Manta Airport control tower, approximately 60% completed, can be seen. / Manta (Ecuador) = Photo by Airport Photographers Group
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] Korea Airports Corporation's '15th airport' is coming into view. Negotiations for the concession of Manta International Airport in Ecuador have entered the final stage. As this is the first case of directly operating an overseas airport by a Korean entity, expectations from related domestic industries are high.
According to industry sources on the 18th, Korea Airports Corporation is currently conducting final negotiations with the local government to directly acquire and operate Manta Airport in Manab? Province, Ecuador, for 30 years until 2050. The corporation expects to sign the business contract by the first half of next year.
Manta City, where Manta Airport is located, is a Pacific coastal city and Ecuador's largest port city. It holds a strong position as a tourist destination, being the gateway city to the Gal?pagos Islands, a world natural heritage site. Additionally, the recent focus in the aviation industry on high value-added fresh cargo (such as tuna and shrimp) is abundant in this area.
The Ecuadorian government is accelerating development to foster Manta Airport as a tourism hub. Manta Airport suffered damage to some facilities, including the control tower, due to a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in 2016, and restoration and reconstruction work is currently underway. Once completed, it is expected to become a medium-sized airport comparable to Yeosu Airport. Due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current progress rate is reported to be about 63%.
This project is attracting attention from related industries as a public-private partnership (PPP) where Korea Airports Corporation will directly operate the Manta Airport, which is under construction by the Ecuadorian government, for 30 years. The winning bidder will directly hire personnel to operate the terminal and also be responsible for revenue-generating businesses such as attracting commercial facilities.
In other words, it will become Korea Airports Corporation's 15th airport (14 airports domestically). If successful in winning the bid, the corporation expects sales of approximately $580 million (about 630 billion KRW) over the next 30 years. A Korea Airports Corporation official explained, "For example, by securing a cargo terminal, we can develop Manta as a hub for exporting fresh cargo produced there," adding, "In addition to terminal operations, we will also directly manage the attraction of commercial facilities such as duty-free shops and food and beverage outlets within the airport."
In particular, Korea Airports Corporation is planning a mid- to long-term growth strategy to develop Manta Airport as an international airport, considering its position as the gateway airport to the Gal?pagos Islands. This is based on the judgment that it can absorb tourism demand from the Americas. In fact, it is reported that an airline has already applied to operate a route connecting Miami, Manta, and the Gal?pagos Islands.
Accordingly, Korea Airports Corporation is putting all its efforts into winning this project. Considering the nature of this project, which is conducted through a government-to-government (G2G) contract, the corporation plans to work closely with the government (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to also support the development cooperation of Manta Airport and Manta City. Luis Gallegos Chiriboga, Ecuador's Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited the construction site last month and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on knowledge sharing regarding airport quarantine and operations in preparation for the post-COVID era, further supporting the project bid.
Korea Airports Corporation stated, "We plan to develop Manta Airport into a Korean-style smart airport by combining Korea's airport operation technology and K-quarantine know-how," adding, "We will strive to make this project a successful operation case and a foothold for expanding into the Latin American market."
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