Japan is in the process of privatising its major and regional airports. Our client, a Japanese consortium, engaged Steer to provide air traffic, business plan and capital investment advice in its bid for Sendai Airport in North East Japan. Sendai serves about 3 million passengers per annum. It is in the vicinity of Fukushima and was flooded during the Great East Earthquake of 2011.
With the support of a Tokyo-based partner, we worked closely with the client over a nine-month period, supporting their initial ‘1st screening’ proposal and then their final/’2nd screening’ proposal to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure (‘MLIT’).
Our support covered the core traffic, business plan (revenues, operating costs) and capital investment. A central piece of our advice was proposed remodelling of the airport terminal’s commercial areas, increasing the amount of retail space in more lucrative airside areas and developing the range of brands on offer to passengers. We also developed detailed long-term projections of air passengers, movements and cargo. We also developed a comprehensive fully flexible operating model aligned with the client’s bid model.
Our advice assisted the consortium in developing the highest ranked financial and technical proposal to the Japanese government. As a result, the Tokyu consortium was awarded the long-term concession to operate the airport. We have subsequently supported other clients bidding for airport concessions in Japan, at Fukuoka and Kumamoto.
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