Liberia's Monrovia airport privatisation is another test for western investors

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the African continent by international investors in airports, including (notably) Corporación América, VINCI, Egis Group, Mota-Engil and Qatar Airways, which have put down markers in countries like Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Cape Verde and Rwanda.

There are two main reasons.

Firstly, the increase in air traffic in the continent which is chronicled in this report, and which is expected to continue, and secondly, the desire to be first mover and to establish a presence where there are high volumes of traffic, an aspirant middle class, and either actual or potential air hubs.

Liberia in West Africa offers none of these things.

It is a poor country despite economic support from, of all places, the United States; it has had two brutal civil wars in recent memory, and suffered one of the world's worst Ebola outbreaks in 2014-2016. It remains vulnerable to cross-border spread and future outbreaks due to regional proximity and systemic health challenges, while its main airport and country gateway handles only around 300,000 passengers a year.

It is not the sort of location most international investors would choose to take on an airport concession in Africa, and one wonders how many local firms could even attempt it, but the government has put up the main airport, Roberts International in the capital Monrovia, under a competitive bidding process, under a 25 year concession.

It will be the ultimate test of investor attraction to African airports.