関空運営権 利便向上へ民間の力生かそう

The Yomiuri Shimbun
2 Kansai airports’ privatization must lead to improved convenience
関空運営権　利便向上へ民間の力生かそう

Can having the private sector take charge of managing airports improve their convenience?
　空港の運営を民間が担うことで、利便性の向上をどう実現していくかが問われよう。

New Kansai International Airport Co., wholly funded by the central government, has launched procedures to sell the rights to operate two airports it owns: Kansai Airport and Osaka Airport, also known as Itami Airport.
　国が全額出資する新関西国際空港会社が、関西空港と伊丹空港の運営権売却に向けた手続きをスタートさせた。

The concession sale plan is designed to enable private companies to acquire the management rights of the two airports for 45 years without transferring the government ownership of such facilities as passenger terminals and runways.
　空港ビルや滑走路など施設の所有権は移さず、両空港を４５年間にわたって運営する権利を外部に譲渡する計画という。

Bidding will begin in October this year, with the completion of a sales contract with the successful bidders scheduled for autumn next year at the earliest.
今年１０月に入札を開始し、来秋にも売却先と契約を結ぶ予定だ。

The planned sale of the management rights is a new approach to improving the operations of the airports through introduction of private-sector funds and managerial know-how. The goal of the concession sale plan—boosting the quality of public infrastructure, or social overhead capital, through avoiding fiscal burdens—is reasonable.
　運営権売却は、民間の資金とノウハウを導入し、空港経営の改善を目指す新たな手法である。財政負担を避けつつ、公共インフラ（社会資本）の質を高めようとする狙いは理解できる。

The government has announced plans to sell operating concessions of airports as part of the nation’s growth strategy, pursuing the goal of selling the management rights of six airports by the end of fiscal 2016.
　政府は成長戦略の一環として空港の運営権売却を掲げ、２０１６年度末までに６空港での実施を目指している。

Sendai Airport has already announced guidelines for applications concerning the sale of its management rights, while Fukuoka Airport and Hiroshima Airport are also preparing for their privatization.
すでに、仙台空港が運営権売却に関する募集要項を発表しており、福岡、広島の両空港なども検討を進めている。

Success or failure of the envisioned sale of Kansai and Osaka airports will serve as a test of the prospects for the sale of airports’ operation concessions.
　関空、伊丹の成否は、今後の運営権売却の試金石となる。

About 150 companies and other organizations, including financial institutions and trading houses at home and from abroad, took part in a briefing session that New Kansai International Airport Co. held earlier this month, indicating a high level of interest in the concession sale plan.
　新関空会社が今月開いた説明会には、金融機関や商社など国内外から約１５０の企業・団体が参加し、関心の高さを裏付けた。

¥2.2 trillion too expensive

Firms managing airports overseas are also reported to be interested in buying the management rights of the two Kansai airports, citing such reasons as the wealth of tourism resources in the Kansai region and rising civil aviation demand in Asia. It is likely that multiple Japanese companies and foreign firms will formulate consortiums to take part in the bidding.
　関西圏の観光資源の豊富さやアジアの航空需要の高さを理由に、購入に意欲を示す海外空港の運営会社もあるという。複数の日本企業や外資が連合を組んで入札に参加することが想定される。

One concern is the colossal price sought for Kansai Airport: ¥2.2 trillion over a period of 45 years if no advance payment is made.
　気がかりなのは、関空側の提示した売却額が巨額なことだ。前払い金ゼロの場合、４５年間の支払総額は２兆２０００億円に上る。

The airport company says this will be easy enough to pay if the concession holder secures the company’s current level of profits.
　新関空会社は、現状程度の利益を上げ続ければ、支払いは十分可能だと説明する。

Analysts from such industries as the real estate business, however, have pointed out that the price sought by the airport company is excessive compared to prices of airports in foreign countries, which they say are priced mostly at levels equivalent to several hundreds of billions of yen.
だが、不動産業界などには、数千億円が相場とされる海外の空港に比べて高すぎるといった声もある。

In addition, the division of roles to be played by the three airports of Kansai, Osaka and Kobe remains ambiguous, making it unclear whether a concession holder could obtain stable earnings over a long term.
　関空、伊丹、神戸の「関西３空港」の役割分担もあいまいで、長期にわたって安定した収益を上げられるかどうか不透明だ。

The government, the sole shareholder of New Kansai International Airport Co., should fulfill its responsibility to present a convincing account of where its airport policy is headed.
　新関空会社の株主である国は、空港政策の方向性をきちんと説明する責任があろう。

In numerous cases, airport operations by private-sector companies have proved successful, leading to large increases in the number of airport users attracted by such steps as expansion of the airports’ commercial facilities.
　海外では、民間企業による経営が奏功し、商業施設の拡充などで集客数を大幅に増やしたケースも少なくない。

But there have also been failures. In Argentina, for example, airport operations have gone into the red after their management was privatized, resulting in increases in financial burdens on their users and declines in the quality of services.
　一方、民間が運営に乗り出した後に赤字に陥り、利用者の負担増やサービスの低下を招いたアルゼンチンのような失敗例もある。

Selling the management rights to the private sector in a way that is detrimental to airport users would be the completely wrong approach. In selecting winning bids, the government must be very careful in scrutinizing the managerial capabilities and the feasibility of business plans of potential concession holders.
　民間への売却が利用者に不利益をもたらしては本末転倒だ。売却先の経営能力や事業計画を精査して選定することが求められる。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 24, 2014)