A joint venture company between Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and WCT Holdings Bhd has been given a further 22 years till 2069 to operate gateway@klia2.
A joint venture company between Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and WCT Holdings Bhd has been given a further 22 years till 2069 to operate gateway@klia2.

KUALA LUMPUR: A joint venture company between Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and WCT Holdings Bhd has been given a further 22 years till 2069 to operate gateway@klia2.

The joint venture company, Segi Astana Sdn Bhd, is 30 per cent owned by MAHB, with the majority 70 per cent stake held by WCT.

MAHB and WCT and the respective wholly owned units Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd and WCT Land Sdn Bhd today inked an agreement to extend the concession period by 22 years once the first 10-year extension period concludes on Aug 31, 2047.

As part of the concession extension, Segi Astana will issue 34.02 million shares or 32.08 per cent of its enlarged share base to MAHB once the second 22-year extension concludes in August 2069.

The share issuance will see MAHB raise its stake in Segi Astana to 47 per cent, while WCT's interest will be diluted to 53 per cent. 

WCT also holds the entire 86 million non-voting redeemable preference shares in Segi Astana.

In 2011, MAHB, WCT and Segi Astana signed the principal concession agreement awarding the latter the concession on gateway@klia2 on a build-operate-transfer model for 25 years with an extension option of another 10 years.

Gateway@klia2, then known as the integrated complex of klia2, was completed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport's Terminal 2 in July 2013 and opened its doors to the public in May 2014. 

It comprises the transportation hub for the Express Rail Link and other modes of transportation, the commercial complex and car parks.

The principal agreement's 10-year extension option was later exercised, pushing the concession's expiration date to 2047.

In March this year, MAHB and the government inked new operating and land lease agreements that extended the former's concession to manage the airports in the country to February 2069, from 2034 previously.

Shares in MAHB shed one per cent or 10 sen to RM9.92, valuing the airport operator at RM16.55 billion. 

WCT closed 0.93 per cent higher at 54 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM758.58 million.