Airports, from construction to privatization: the Region pays for everything.
Sardinian paradox: first the public sector shouldered the costs of building the Cagliari airport and promoting it, now the intention of the Council is to pay to acquire shares in the sole management companyPer restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
In the end, Pantalone will pay for everything . That is, the Region . This is the scenario that unfolds on the island regarding the unified management of airports , a goal that Ligantia F2i, the private investment fund whose shareholders include the Americans BlackRock and the Fondazione di Sardegna, wants to achieve.
The project currently appears to be stalled. On the one hand, the appeal is still pending before the Cagliari Court : it dates back to 2023, and the Region, when the center-right governed, filed it against the merger of the Olbia and Alghero airports, a move intended to avoid a public tender for the sale of Cagliari airport . At least, that's according to the plans of Ligantia and the Chamber of Commerce, the major shareholder with a 94.4% stake. On the other hand, the lack of unity of purpose within the current regional majority weighs heavily, so much so that the study commissioned by the Regional Council at the end of 2024 to decide the role of the public sector in the future single company, but after a good year , is still unknown.
However, the financial costs that risk burdening taxpayers are well known: €200 million was spent to build the Cagliari airport. Another €53 million, from 2010 to today, has been allocated by the Region to promote the connection system. Now , another €30 million could be added , if Todde and his allies were to include them in the next budget amendment, with the aim of acquiring shares in the future single company. The sum had already been allocated in the 2025 Budget, but has not been spent because privatization is currently not progressing.
Ligantia F2i and the Chamber of Commerce, on the other hand, would carry out the operation at no cost . This is referred to as a "contribution in kind." The agreement between the parties stipulates that the Cagliari and Oristano entity will cede 40.5% of its shares to the private fund in exchange for entry into the single company, in which the Region could hold between 5 and 10 percent of its shares. But everything remains to be decided.