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New Kansai International Airport Company (NKIAC) has selected the ORIX Corporation - VINCI Airports consortium as Preferred Negotiation Right Holder for the 44-year concession for airport operation of Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport in Japan.

This announcement comes after the team was the only team selected in June this year for the submission of a final bid for the airport concession.

The firms will set-up a concessionaire company to enter into a project agreement with NKIAC by the end of 2015. ORIX and VINCI will have the same shareholdings (40% each), and minority shareholder companies from the Kansai region will hold 20% overall.

The wining consortium is scheduled to begin operating the airports by March  2016. ORIX and VINCI Airports will now work closely with NKIAC, the airports' employees, business partners and the local communities to outline the forthcoming plans and processes, and get feedback from these stakeholders who will be crucial to the operations of the airports in the future.

Together, the Kansai and Osaka international airports, had a total of 34.6 million passengers in fiscal year 2014-2015, which represents the second busiest airport group in Japan. The growth in traffic last year (+7.4%) has been supported by the excellent results of tourism in Japan and the development of the low-cost carriers for which the Kansai International Airport is the main hub in the country.

• Kansai International Airport is Located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, 38 km southwest of ?saka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano, Sennan and Tajiri. The airport was opened on 4 September 1994 to handle increasing passenger numbers at Osaka International Airport, which is closer to the city of Osaka and now handles only domestic flights. The airport serves as a hub for local airlines such as All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines and Nippon Cargo Airlines.

• Osaka International Airport s the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is classified as a first class airport. Kansai International Airport took over Osaka's international traffic in 1994 and competes with Itami for domestic traffic.

The total funding plan of the concessionaire company is JPY260 billion (US$2.1 billion) of which JPY80 billion (US$648.7 million) shall be paid out of shareholders contributions.

In late September we reported that Japan selected a team made up general contractor Maeda Corporation and railway operator Tokyu Corporation as the preferred bidder for the rights to operate and improve facilities at Sendai Airport, which is Japan's 10th busiest airport.

We have recently reported on several airports PPP projects globally:

• Milas-Bodrum airport terminals concession - Turkey
• Istanbul third airport BOT project - Turkey
• Çukurova regional airport PPP project - Turkey
• New International Airport in Mexico City - Mexico
• Guarulhos International Airport concession in São Paulo - Brazil
• Concession for extension and operation of Santiago International airport (Arturo Merino Benítez) - Chile