Freeport Grand Bahama International Airport and MAG – a mutually beneficial PPP

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which runs the UK's third and fourth busiest airports, developed a penchant in the late 1990s for foreign asset investment, but then withdrew from early investments in Australia.

The group went quiet for a while, then focused on building a retail-oriented presence in the USA and a business division specialising in non-aeronautical revenue generation, while selectively positioning for a variety of leases and concessions following inward investment from Australia's IFM (including London Stansted Airport at which it was successful).

Freeport Grand Bahama International Airport has already been privately owned - by a Hong Kong-based operator, that seemed to treat it more as a sideshow to its container and cruise ships port operations there.

Then it reverted to the government, following a disastrous hurricane.

Following a degree of to-ing and fro-in, it seems that a deal has been done by which MAG will now manage the airport, while construction funding will come from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

But it is not clear that this is a genuine PPP arrangement.

Whatever the case, there is probably more to be gained from the deal by MAG than by the Bahamas, as the UK operator puts itself back in the global shop window following completion of the extension of Terminal 2 in Manchester.