Australia's finance minister, John Fahey, says the government is considering offering SACL shares publicly rather than through trade sales as it did with the country's 17 other airports.
SACL owns and runs Sydney's Kingsford Smith International Airport and three regional airfields.
Canberra plans to proceed with the sale of Sydney's airports soon after it decides the controversial site for the city's new airport at Badgerys Creek. A sale is unlikely before the Olympic Games in September, however, and could be delayed by at least a year to give SACL a chance to improve its financial results.
Fahey and transport minister John Anderson say a decision on Badgerys Creek is imminent. Anderson says the government is considering the cost of a high-speed rail link between Sydney and Canberra as the final issue to resolve over Badgerys Creek. If such a link could be built at reasonable cost by the time Kingsford Smith reaches saturation in 2007, other less controversial sites along the rail corridor might be considered for a major airport.
Australia has not yet committed to sell Sydney publicly, but is considering that option. Even if Canberra chooses that route, Fahey says it might privately place some shares with a strategic partner before offering the rest to the public.
A public sale of Sydney's airports could be more attractive than earlier airport offerings because of the cross-ownership limits that apply to the owners of airports that rival Sydney.
The buyers of Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth are barred from owning more than 15% of Sydney. They are controlled by three of the world's major airport groups, so this could limit the bidding for Sydney.
Source: Airline Business
