Corvera
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The more I read about the subject, the more I resign myself to the fact that Corvera will never be a viable airport
Corvera Airport : Will San Javier Airport ever close ?
Corvera Airport : Will San Javier Airport ever close ?
What happened to that decree that a Govt bigwig signed in 2011 which was meant to close San Javier in 2012 ? Was it formally revoked, was its effect conditional on Corvera being fully open, or did people just pretend it didn't exist and hope nobody would make a fuss ?
Has the military made any noise recently about passenger flights continuing to stay at San Javier for the time being rather than moving to Corvera, or are they being terribly discreet knowing full well that the Spanish Govt is trying to cut costs for the time being ?
Has the military made any noise recently about passenger flights continuing to stay at San Javier for the time being rather than moving to Corvera, or are they being terribly discreet knowing full well that the Spanish Govt is trying to cut costs for the time being ?
I picked my son up last friday from MJV. There were 2 movements all day. That flight (Easyjet from Gatwick) and a flight from Madrid. Most days in the winter are very quiet so what would keep Corvera going? Also many people that use MJV in the summer will use Alicante instead. A White Elephant or what?
Murcia (San Javier) Airport Live Flight Arrivals & Departures Information
Murcia (San Javier) Airport Live Flight Arrivals & Departures Information
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Was there anyone doubted so far today?
Murcia's President Valcarcel is lying with regards to the transfer of operations between San Javier and Corvera.
And Corvera infrastructures are deteriorating due to lack of maintenance.
And yes, another White Elephant.
Murcia's President Valcarcel is lying with regards to the transfer of operations between San Javier and Corvera.
And Corvera infrastructures are deteriorating due to lack of maintenance.
And yes, another White Elephant.
And to think the Spanish run Heathrow Airport.
You couldn't make up what is happening in Murcia.
CORVERA - MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS | Spain | Leader - News, Sport, Spanish Property, Advertising, Classifieds - Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa de Almeria, Spain
You couldn't make up what is happening in Murcia.
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Quote: "And to think the Spanish run Heathrow Airport.
You couldn't make up what is happening in Murcia.
CORVERA - MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS | Spain | Leader - News, Sport, Spanish Property, Advertising, Classifieds - Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa de Almeria, Spain "
Spanish don't actually run LHR. Ferrovial are the largest shareholders in Heathrow Ltd. (as it's now called). There are others, such as the Ontario Teachers pension Fund, and others. As for running it, AFAIK, the management is home-grown.
You couldn't make up what is happening in Murcia.
CORVERA - MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS | Spain | Leader - News, Sport, Spanish Property, Advertising, Classifieds - Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa de Almeria, Spain "
Spanish don't actually run LHR. Ferrovial are the largest shareholders in Heathrow Ltd. (as it's now called). There are others, such as the Ontario Teachers pension Fund, and others. As for running it, AFAIK, the management is home-grown.
The latest on Corvera from El Pais.
Corvera, the smart new kid on the block in Spain's empty airports club | In English | EL PAÍS
Corvera, the smart new kid on the block in Spain's empty airports club | In English | EL PAÍS
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The question is : Why would AENA appoint a new Director for San Javier unless they have no intention for closing in favour of Corvera ?
Murcia's San Javier Airport appoints new boss
Murcia's San Javier Airport appoints new boss
djfwells - perhaps because in any organisation there has to be some form of management hierarchy to keep the lower ranks in line and prevent anarchy.
If there is no clear leader, then very quickly someone tries to usurp power and claim the throne of leadership. Better that AENA appoint a leader in a controlled way than waiting for various people to just fight amongst themselves.
As the saying goes, "Nature abhors a vaccuum"
If there is no clear leader, then very quickly someone tries to usurp power and claim the throne of leadership. Better that AENA appoint a leader in a controlled way than waiting for various people to just fight amongst themselves.
As the saying goes, "Nature abhors a vaccuum"
Another interesting article from El Pais.
This is a translation of a recent article in El Pais (Feb 2013) . If this is correct is anyone out there still thinking that Corvera will open for business during our lifetime?
Antonio Sánchez Hernández expresses the irrefutable logic of the countryside. "I suspect they'll open it so that they can close it later," he says, pointing at the signs that proclaim "International Airport of the Murcia Region." Antonio, 72, a retired marble cutter and a farmworker in his spare time, sprinkles water on the earth in an attempt to save his modest harvest.
The airport he is pointing to across the motorway is a gray building, covered with stainless steel panels. It's an attractive building and is said to have won design awards. Entry is forbidden - all you can see is the scrubland between the runway, the empty parking lot and the unused control tower. Not a single commercial flight has landed here, despite the fact that the airport, which cost 266 million euros, was finished a year ago. To the shameful list of Spanish airports without planes - Castellón, Ciudad Real and Huesca - we can now add Corvera, which is yet to be inaugurated.
Murcia was going to be Florida - or rather, California. During the boom years, thousands of new apartments and golf courses were built, all located near the coast to attract the British. The regional government joined the party. Money appeared to be no object. That attitude led to building of the Cartagena-Vera toll road, which covers 100 kilometers of near-virgin coastland, and was designed to service these future resorts.
Then came the plan to build Marina de Cope, a mega-complex located in a natural park. The sweetener on the top of the plan was a private airport, designed to attract crowds of tourists. For the Popular Party (PP) regional premier, Ramón Luis Valcárcel, the major Alicante airport, located just 75 kilometers from Murcia, was not sufficient. Nor was the partial use of the San Javier military base, which is actually located in Murcia.
If it were to open, it would need an immediate injection of public funds"
That was why, in 2006, he awarded the construction of the airport to a consortium led by construction company Sacyr. But in 2008, when the building work began, the problems started - nothing went to plan. "That was when the bank financing fell through and the franchise holder ran into difficulties," explains the general director of transport, Antonio Sánchez-Solís. "The negotiations with the banks hit a dead end, and so of course the regional government provided guarantees for the consortium. But that doesn't mean that they have forked out a single penny," he says.
That deal took the form of a 200-million-euro guarantee. The PP introduced it as an amendment to its 2010 budget and as such, tied its fate to the project. If the franchise holder were to go bankrupt, the creditor banks - Caixabanc, Espírito Santo, Caixa de Tarragona, Caja Segovia, Cajasol, the Official Credit Institute (ICO) and the Caja de Tarragona - would demand 200 million euros from an indebted region. In fact, in 2012 Murcia had to request bailout funds of 527 million euros from the Regional Liquidity Fund. "That was the moment when they should have dropped the project, and nothing would have happened," explains a source with knowledge of the plan, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. "But Valcárcel was determined to press on."
With the guarantee from the region, credit began to flow and the pace of the construction work picked up. The project was finished a year ago, according to sources, but there was no ribbon-cutting nor champagne. The well-publicized disasters of Castellón and Ciudad Real have cast a long shadow over Murcia. No politician will be inaugurating another airport without planes. "It is still in the fitting phase and a few authorizations are pending," says the regional head of transport, who cannot confirm the date of its opening. "It would be rash to do so," he says. But a quick check of the newspaper archives reveals a number of missed deadlines already.
The main problem lies with the fact that, 35 kilometers away, the Public Works Ministry has just invested 70 million euros in improvements to the San Javier airport. Spanish airports authority AENA, which was in charge of managing the civil side of the project, built a new terminal there between 2004 and 2011, as well as another runway and a control tower. And it is calling on the region or the new airport to pick up the bill. "Neither the region nor the franchise holder have that money," explains a source from the project. "What they can do is transfer those assets to the Defense Ministry."
It's a venomous situation: a new airport that cost 266 million euros is calling for another airport, a public one, which is located 35 kilometers away and in which 70 million euros have been invested, to close down. "Valcárcel was determined to have his airport when he knew that AENA was investing in San Javier. He said that it would triple the arrival of tourists, but there's been no change," says Socialist spokeswoman Begoña García Retegui.
Despite the region's assurances that everything is in order, and that there is no risk with regard to the guarantee, the months slip by and the shareholders are getting nervous. Aside from Sacyr, other investors include banks such as CAM and Caja Murcia, and real estate firms Montoro e Hijos and Inprisma. Each one has a stake of around 6 percent, but several are getting tired of paying interest without a fixed inauguration date. Montoro e Hijos has already asked for a way out, according to the company.
Even if AENA agrees to close the San Javier airport, there would still be storm clouds over the project. The numbers cited when the project was created look very suspect. Passenger traffic at San Javier has fallen from two million in 2007 to 1.2 million in 2012. If Corvera were to absorb all of San Javier's traffic, it still wouldn't reach 5.2 million passengers in 2015, as the contract stipulated. "If it were to open, it would need immediate injections of public funds, as has been done with the toll roads," explains a source with knowledge of the operation. The franchise holder has declined to comment on the situation, although it has been pointed out that a renegotiation of such a deal is a regular practice.
Away from the negotiations between Sacyr, AENA and the region, the locals are equally disappointed with the project. The owners of the expropriated land where the construction took place have only received a part of the money they were promised. Ascensión Noguera is among the 90 people who have been affected by this. "I am paying a mortgage for a lemon orchard that I bought with great excitement, and now I've been left with nothing."
Antonio Sánchez, the farmer, offers his opinion: "There's not a single penny left. The money has gone. In that golf resort there are 1,500 houses, with 20 families living there. The foreigners are sick of being conned." He smiles as he speaks, but each sentence he utters is like a hammer blow. "The airport wasn't needed, but they have all made mistakes: the politicians and the banks. What we should have taken 30 years to do, we did in 10, and now someone has to pay for it all."
_______________________
This is a translation of a recent article in El Pais (Feb 2013) . If this is correct is anyone out there still thinking that Corvera will open for business during our lifetime?
Antonio Sánchez Hernández expresses the irrefutable logic of the countryside. "I suspect they'll open it so that they can close it later," he says, pointing at the signs that proclaim "International Airport of the Murcia Region." Antonio, 72, a retired marble cutter and a farmworker in his spare time, sprinkles water on the earth in an attempt to save his modest harvest.
The airport he is pointing to across the motorway is a gray building, covered with stainless steel panels. It's an attractive building and is said to have won design awards. Entry is forbidden - all you can see is the scrubland between the runway, the empty parking lot and the unused control tower. Not a single commercial flight has landed here, despite the fact that the airport, which cost 266 million euros, was finished a year ago. To the shameful list of Spanish airports without planes - Castellón, Ciudad Real and Huesca - we can now add Corvera, which is yet to be inaugurated.
Murcia was going to be Florida - or rather, California. During the boom years, thousands of new apartments and golf courses were built, all located near the coast to attract the British. The regional government joined the party. Money appeared to be no object. That attitude led to building of the Cartagena-Vera toll road, which covers 100 kilometers of near-virgin coastland, and was designed to service these future resorts.
Then came the plan to build Marina de Cope, a mega-complex located in a natural park. The sweetener on the top of the plan was a private airport, designed to attract crowds of tourists. For the Popular Party (PP) regional premier, Ramón Luis Valcárcel, the major Alicante airport, located just 75 kilometers from Murcia, was not sufficient. Nor was the partial use of the San Javier military base, which is actually located in Murcia.
If it were to open, it would need an immediate injection of public funds"
That was why, in 2006, he awarded the construction of the airport to a consortium led by construction company Sacyr. But in 2008, when the building work began, the problems started - nothing went to plan. "That was when the bank financing fell through and the franchise holder ran into difficulties," explains the general director of transport, Antonio Sánchez-Solís. "The negotiations with the banks hit a dead end, and so of course the regional government provided guarantees for the consortium. But that doesn't mean that they have forked out a single penny," he says.
That deal took the form of a 200-million-euro guarantee. The PP introduced it as an amendment to its 2010 budget and as such, tied its fate to the project. If the franchise holder were to go bankrupt, the creditor banks - Caixabanc, Espírito Santo, Caixa de Tarragona, Caja Segovia, Cajasol, the Official Credit Institute (ICO) and the Caja de Tarragona - would demand 200 million euros from an indebted region. In fact, in 2012 Murcia had to request bailout funds of 527 million euros from the Regional Liquidity Fund. "That was the moment when they should have dropped the project, and nothing would have happened," explains a source with knowledge of the plan, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. "But Valcárcel was determined to press on."
With the guarantee from the region, credit began to flow and the pace of the construction work picked up. The project was finished a year ago, according to sources, but there was no ribbon-cutting nor champagne. The well-publicized disasters of Castellón and Ciudad Real have cast a long shadow over Murcia. No politician will be inaugurating another airport without planes. "It is still in the fitting phase and a few authorizations are pending," says the regional head of transport, who cannot confirm the date of its opening. "It would be rash to do so," he says. But a quick check of the newspaper archives reveals a number of missed deadlines already.
The main problem lies with the fact that, 35 kilometers away, the Public Works Ministry has just invested 70 million euros in improvements to the San Javier airport. Spanish airports authority AENA, which was in charge of managing the civil side of the project, built a new terminal there between 2004 and 2011, as well as another runway and a control tower. And it is calling on the region or the new airport to pick up the bill. "Neither the region nor the franchise holder have that money," explains a source from the project. "What they can do is transfer those assets to the Defense Ministry."
It's a venomous situation: a new airport that cost 266 million euros is calling for another airport, a public one, which is located 35 kilometers away and in which 70 million euros have been invested, to close down. "Valcárcel was determined to have his airport when he knew that AENA was investing in San Javier. He said that it would triple the arrival of tourists, but there's been no change," says Socialist spokeswoman Begoña García Retegui.
Despite the region's assurances that everything is in order, and that there is no risk with regard to the guarantee, the months slip by and the shareholders are getting nervous. Aside from Sacyr, other investors include banks such as CAM and Caja Murcia, and real estate firms Montoro e Hijos and Inprisma. Each one has a stake of around 6 percent, but several are getting tired of paying interest without a fixed inauguration date. Montoro e Hijos has already asked for a way out, according to the company.
Even if AENA agrees to close the San Javier airport, there would still be storm clouds over the project. The numbers cited when the project was created look very suspect. Passenger traffic at San Javier has fallen from two million in 2007 to 1.2 million in 2012. If Corvera were to absorb all of San Javier's traffic, it still wouldn't reach 5.2 million passengers in 2015, as the contract stipulated. "If it were to open, it would need immediate injections of public funds, as has been done with the toll roads," explains a source with knowledge of the operation. The franchise holder has declined to comment on the situation, although it has been pointed out that a renegotiation of such a deal is a regular practice.
Away from the negotiations between Sacyr, AENA and the region, the locals are equally disappointed with the project. The owners of the expropriated land where the construction took place have only received a part of the money they were promised. Ascensión Noguera is among the 90 people who have been affected by this. "I am paying a mortgage for a lemon orchard that I bought with great excitement, and now I've been left with nothing."
Antonio Sánchez, the farmer, offers his opinion: "There's not a single penny left. The money has gone. In that golf resort there are 1,500 houses, with 20 families living there. The foreigners are sick of being conned." He smiles as he speaks, but each sentence he utters is like a hammer blow. "The airport wasn't needed, but they have all made mistakes: the politicians and the banks. What we should have taken 30 years to do, we did in 10, and now someone has to pay for it all."
_______________________
Typically, large infrstructure projects require hefty loans to pay for the land purchase and construction. Banks will generally require various covenants to ensure the capacity of the project company to pay the interest on the debt - typically one finds in project budgets that the affordability gap is tightest immediately after construction is complete and revenues just start coming on line.
Spain is receiving a bail-out to help save its banks - it is likely that commercial and state owned banks will have very little leeway to let debts just keep on piling up somewhere. In addition, there will be political pressure to ensure banks are seen to correctly classify non-performing loans as being in default, sell of the loans to a Govt-owned bad bank, at which point private investors will have sufficient confidence to inject fresh capital into banks, the banking sector returns to health, credit is available to Spanish companies and the Spanish economy can be revived.
Somebody somewhere will be asking whether any more money can be committed to Corvera as a project or whether the money taps will be turned off for good and "alternative measures" similiar to those at Ciudad Real need to be taken by the board of the Corvera airport company.
Spain is receiving a bail-out to help save its banks - it is likely that commercial and state owned banks will have very little leeway to let debts just keep on piling up somewhere. In addition, there will be political pressure to ensure banks are seen to correctly classify non-performing loans as being in default, sell of the loans to a Govt-owned bad bank, at which point private investors will have sufficient confidence to inject fresh capital into banks, the banking sector returns to health, credit is available to Spanish companies and the Spanish economy can be revived.
Somebody somewhere will be asking whether any more money can be committed to Corvera as a project or whether the money taps will be turned off for good and "alternative measures" similiar to those at Ciudad Real need to be taken by the board of the Corvera airport company.
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And the sad saga goes on :
From Murcia Today
From Murcia Today
Corvera airport has been completed for 15 months, yet is still not open. A combination of factors have caused delays: issues over airspace use, the bureaucratic difficulties in opening a new customs point, the complex paperwork required to open a new airport, but above all, the failure to agree terms with Aena to transfer operations from San Javier to Corvera.
The concessionary is unwilling to open without the closure of San Javier, but the Ministry for Development is refusing to move without compensation and neither the regional government nor concessionary have a spare 70 million to pay them. This week it's been reported that the concessionary is ready to throw in the towel, leaving the regional government with an unopened airport and a 200 million loan that it too, can´t afford to pay.
The concessionary is unwilling to open without the closure of San Javier, but the Ministry for Development is refusing to move without compensation and neither the regional government nor concessionary have a spare 70 million to pay them. This week it's been reported that the concessionary is ready to throw in the towel, leaving the regional government with an unopened airport and a 200 million loan that it too, can´t afford to pay.
It really doesn't look as though Corvera Airport will open for a very long time if at all. Heads should roll!
! Murcia Today - Corvera Airport In Crisis?
! Murcia Today - Corvera Airport In Crisis?
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Unsurprising; however, heads should not roll, whom ever approved it, should be sent to JAIL - it might send the right kind of message; unfortunately heads won't roll and neither will anyone be sent to jail - such is the corruption of Spanish politicians
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And the saga continues;
According to Murcia Today, the Regional Government are to initiate proceedings to terminate the contract of Aeromur to operate the airport.
The proceedings are expected to take three months and the contract re-adjudicated by the end of the year.
The airport therefore will not open this year.
What is the betting that the new concessionary will be Aena, the current operator of San Javier airport
According to Murcia Today, the Regional Government are to initiate proceedings to terminate the contract of Aeromur to operate the airport.
The proceedings are expected to take three months and the contract re-adjudicated by the end of the year.
The airport therefore will not open this year.
What is the betting that the new concessionary will be Aena, the current operator of San Javier airport
To wake up a long ignored thread...
Any recent news on Corvera ? Google seems to suggest that the infrastructure is now largely in place, but the commercial aspects and politics still need to be resolved. I don't live anywhere near Murcia, so please tell me if I've read this completely wrong !
Are commercial passenger flights likely to be visiting for the summer 2014 season, or is somewhere between October 2014 and never the earliest credible option ?
Any recent news on Corvera ? Google seems to suggest that the infrastructure is now largely in place, but the commercial aspects and politics still need to be resolved. I don't live anywhere near Murcia, so please tell me if I've read this completely wrong !
Are commercial passenger flights likely to be visiting for the summer 2014 season, or is somewhere between October 2014 and never the earliest credible option ?
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 6th Aug 2013 at 18:57.
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Aeromar won't open until other airport is closed and reported they have stopped paying loans. Two more licences needed before it can open and passenger numbers to the airports have dropped. An off season month has saw falls of 70,000+ in the last 5 years. Largely down to Ryanair pulling lot of traffic during the winter.
It could open by 2014 but I wouldn't expect it. IMO I hope the current place stays open.
It could open by 2014 but I wouldn't expect it. IMO I hope the current place stays open.
Last edited by j636; 6th Aug 2013 at 19:22.
