Incheon to get $1.6Bn hub injection

The South Korean government said today that it plans to invest US$1.60 billion in the third-phase expansion of Incheon International Airport from 2011 to 2015.

The investment, aimed at developing the airport into a Northeast Asian hub to meet rising demand, would be made by the state-owned airport and the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the ministry said in a statement to Reuters.

A total of $3 billion would be spent on construction from 2009 to 2017, the ministry said.

In September, the government it would sell an up to 49 percent stake in the airport, aiming to complete the deal this year.

But it has yet to launch the sale because legislation issues were still pending at the parliamentary level, an official of the ministry said.

"Once the revision of two laws is approved, we plan to list a less than 15 percent stake in the airport on the domestic stock market," the official said.

A consortium led by Samsung Securities Co is arranging the sale.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)