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| Aecon announces agreement regarding Quito International Airport Aecon Group Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement regarding issues affecting the Quito International Airport project that had arisen following a ruling earlier this year by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. Under the agreement, which is subject to approval by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and a number of other closing deliverables, an arrangement has been found which addresses the prior Court ruling and which resolves a number of other issues important to the investors, the project's lenders and the Municipality. Other key elements of the agreement include: • Project lenders will resume funding for construction of the new airport. • Corporacion Quiport S.A (“Quiport”), which holds concession rights to both the existing Quito Airport and the new airport currently under construction, will, in addition to the currently contracted concession fees, pay the Municipality of Quito 18% of Quiport’s net income plus $500 thousand per year. This change will effectively reduce the earnings Aecon reports from the project by approximately 18% and increase the Municipality’s effective economic interest to the equivalent of 26%. • A schedule of fee increases was established for “Regulated” fees charged by Quiport at the airports (including airline landing fees and passenger departure fees). The schedule, which respects the maximums established in the original concession agreements, provides Quiport with increased certainty regarding the revenues expected to be derived from the concession, and does not limit Quiport’s ability to charge market fees for “Non-regulated” items such as duty free and car rental concessions, parking, food services etc. • It was agreed that a new completion date and a new construction price would be set for the project, reflecting the delays and increased costs associated with the slowing of construction activity following the Court ruling earlier this year. • A deadline of January 29, 2010 was set for receipt of Court approval and finalization of all conditions and deliverables relating to the settlement (including the construction issues noted above). write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Construction News :: home page |