France's Vinci to invest $820 mln in Mexico airport, governor says

Grupo Aeroportuario Del Centro Norte SAB De CV

19/12/2022 18:43

MEXICO CITY, Dec 19 (Reuters) - French airport operator
Vinci  SGEF.PA  will invest $820 million in renovating an
airport in the Mexican business hub of Monterrey in the northern
state of Nuevo Leon, the state's governor said on Monday.
    The investment follows Vinci's purchase earlier this month
of a near-30% stake in Mexican airport administrator OMA
 OMAB.MX  that owns the Monterrey International Airport. 
    Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia on his Instagram account
shared clips from his meeting with Vinci representatives.
    A Vinci spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters'
request for comment.
    A presentation shared on Garcia's Instagram said that Vinci
viewed the Monterrey airport as "the best alternative to Mexico
City airport" and that it had "great potential."
    It also said that Vinci Airports was planning to "engage in
strong partnerships" with Mexican airlines Aeromexico
 AEROMEX.MX  and Viva Aerobus to build up their customer bases.
    Vinci earlier this month said it would start direct flights
between Monterrey, whose international airport alone it said
represents about half of OMA's passenger traffic, and Los
Angeles, Houston, Detroit and Austin.
    The French firm became OMA's biggest shareholder when it
finalised its $1.17 billion stake purchase earlier this month,
it said.
 (Reporting by Kylie Madry and Sarah Morland; Editing by Mark
Porter)
 ((Kylie.Madry@thomsonreuters.com;))