New Zealand: Auckland Airport defends $1.8b spending programme

Auckland International Airport has talked up the "fair balance" it struck in setting out a $1.8b infrastructure spending programme which chief executive Adrian Littlewood says is probably the most significant since its original development in the 1960s. The $1.8b investment in aeronautical infrastructure over the next five years came after a long period where airlines and the wider community were consulted on the airport's future needs and what its operations and pricing priorities should be, Littlewood told shareholders at today's annual meeting in Manukau. Over that period the airport will cut the average annual international passenger charge by 1.7% and hike the equivalent domestic fee by 0.8% to help fund three more contact gates for international aircraft, a new domestic jet terminal, expanded border processing area and public arrivals space, and upgrades to international check-in. "It is a responsibility to our customers we treat with care, but we are also balancing many other expectations - including those of you, our shareholders, looking for a fair return on a major investment programme," Littlewood said in speech notes published on the stock exchange. "We believe we have struck a fair balance in our investment and pricing decisions for the next five years." The programme has already been criticised by the airlines' umbrella group - the Board of Airlines Representatives - as only benefiting airport shareholders, something Littlewood has previously played down. <br/>