Egypt earmarks 11 airports for privatisation programme: civil aviation minister

Egypt’s government is conducting a strategic study to explore models for airport privatisation, before commencing a pilot project which is expected to start with Hurghada airport. Speaking during a sectoral UK mission in London on 3 February, Egyptian minister of civil aviation Sameh Ahmed El-Hefny said the government will work with its advisor, IFC, to understand the privatisation options. “IFC will help us during the pilot to reach a good way of tendering this project,” he says, adding that the organisation will give “confidence [to] the market that we’re working in a very transparent way”. The government has earmarked 11 airports for the privatisation study. But El-Hefny says Cairo airport, the capital hub, “is not included in the study”. He says Cairo – which has “reached maximum capacity” and “urgently” needs a fourth terminal to handle another 30m passengers – will be the subject of a further privatisation analysis. “We need to gain some experience from the pilot project, and proceed after that,” he says. El-Hefny says the initial pilot will commence in about five or six months, if a formal launch proceeds in February. The government will “most probably” start with Hurghada airport, he says, adding that it needs “a lot of investment” such as a new terminal. “Everybody’s aware that this is the future,” says El-Hefny. “We are looking to proceed in same direction [as other major airport privatisations]. This process is coming finally to the start-up phase. We are fully ready, we’ve made a lot of preparation, and been visited by most of the big names in this industry for managing airports.”<br/>