Corporación América Airports looks to operate in Africa. Is Nigeria the first step?
The efforts by the Nigerian government to privatise the country's four main airports by way of concession agreements have rumbled on for years, thwarted at every turn by opposition parties, the judiciary, trades unions, pressure groups - you name it.
But a breakthrough was made late in 2022 with a tentative agreement on a concession for the country's main airport at Lagos. Now Corporación América Airports (CAA) is close to securing one on each of the Abuja (capital city) and Kano airports, leaving just Port Harcourt to be settled.
In 2022 CAA's main private sector airport operating rival, VINCI Airports, made its first entry into the African market, winning a concession package on seven Cape Verdean airports.
That might have spurred CAA, which is now talking about setting up a 'business unit' to operate in several African countries, where it is a virgin.
But Africa remains a difficult market to operate in.
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