Take-off for £11m Norwich International Airport Deal

Take-off for £11m Airport Deal
Norwich Evening News, UK

March 4, 2004 


A MULTI-MILLION pound deal to sell off Norwich
International airport has been signed and its running
handed over to new owners Omniport.

Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council handed
over the reins yesterday after concluding the deal.

The 15-year public-private partnership deal will see
Omniport, the company behind Glasgow's Prestwick
Airport, inject a minimum of £8.3 million into
improvements over the next five to seven years.

The controversial sell-off has prompted claims the £11
million price was too low compared with original
estimates of between £18 million and £22 million.

Consultants are believed to have picked up £2 million
from the deal, whereas the city council's share is
£2.6 million.

Steve Morphew, leader of the opposition Labour Group
at Norwich City Council, said he was concerned the
people of Norwich had lost out.

"I do not believe this is what the people of Norwich
wanted - it has been done behind closed doors.

"It must be a lousy deal if the lawyers, consultants
and accountants get almost as much money as the people
of Norwich."

He said there were no guarantees about the £30 million
worth of investment, which advisors originally said
was needed to improve the airport. Omniport has
promised £8.3 million over the next seven years.

"The most important thing is that we still don't know
where the long-term investment is going to come from
to guarantee the future of the airport. Ernst and
Young said £30 million was needed over the next 10
years. If Omniport is giving £8 million, where is the
other £22 million going to come from?" he added.

Norwich Green Party spokesman Adrian Ramsay said: "The
two councils are going to have a greatly reduced say
on the airport board, holding only two seats. This was
one reason we opposed the deal so strongly. We do not
want to see greatly increased air travel from the
airport."

Deborah Slattery, of Holt Road Residents Association,
said: "I am sure Omniport will also be looking at
increasing night flights, and I wonder if this was
brought into the deal."

Gordon Dean, the city council's executive member for
transport, said: "Every year, more than 400,000
passengers drive to Stansted and other London
airports. If we can increase the number of flights
from Norwich, we could save up to 800,000 car journeys
per year."

Alec Byrne, a county council executive member and
chairman of the panel that dealt with the sale of the
airport, said the two councils did not have the money
to invest in the airport and had been forced to turn
to the private sector.

"The two councils are not in a position to run an
airport, and for it to grow and prosper, we need a
professional team," he said.

"Omniport are going to pump money into Norwich
International because they need it to be a success.
They will be opening Norwich to new routes and doing
much more than we ever could."

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