SINGAPORE 'S Changi Airport International may buy a stake in Abu Dhabi's airport operator when its contract to manage the emirate's airport runs out next year, an Abu Dhabi official said.
Changi Airport won a contract in December to manage Abu Dhabi airport for 18 months, beating UK operator BAA and Austria's Flughafen Wien AG.
“The partnership with Changi might be restructured into equity or other form of partnership," Khalifa Al Mazrouei, chief executive of Abu Dhabi Airports Co, said.
"It could be minority or majority stake in the company," he said.
Abu Dhabi Airports Authority runs the airport in the UAE, where the economy is surging on a tripling in oil prices in the five years to July 2006.
Abu Dhabi is spending $6.8 billion on expanding its airport after starting its own airline.
The airport will handle about 5.6 million passengers this year and capacity will be expanded to 20 million passengers a year in 2010. The expansion includes a cargo facility capable of handling 500,000 tonnes a year.