'Carry On up the Nile' – strategically planned Egyptian airport privatisation moves a step closer

The infamous series of 31 British 'Carry On' films of bawdy, slapstick humour from the 1960s to 1980s didn't include a 'Carry On up the Nile' movie, but arguably the attempts to privatise Egypt's airports could have formed the basis of a script for one.

Not because it has been comedic, but because it has been somewhat chaotic: mainly management contracts predominating - which isn't privatisation anyway - but with BOT projects and wholesale private sector ownership intervening randomly.

Now the Egyptian government has stated twice in the past few months that it is committed to the implementation of processes for offering airport management and operation concessions to the private sector, including in Cairo. It didn't specify to whom, or whether, that means domestic companies or international ones - but it is the latter that have the required experience.

Egypt is a country where the capital city attracts a great deal of the air transport activity, and its three airports, all managed by the same authority, would be top of the list for investors. The other main cities' airports are minnows comparatively.

But the best prospects possibly lie with the sunshine resort airports.