Todde says yes to the Sardinian airport merger, but it's starting from scratch: a clash in the Regional Council.
The government confirms its "political will" to acquire a private holding company. The opposition: "This is a mistaken and untransparent operation."Per restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
The step has been taken. The government has formally approved the privatization of Cagliari airport and the simultaneous unified management of Sardinia's airports. The new development is that the process must start over. "Completion of the operation," reads page 3 of the resolution adopted yesterday by Todde and his allies, "will be conditional upon obtaining the necessary consent." A long list of opinions and approvals. They must be sought again. Yesterday, the government also approved the date of the 2026 local elections: voting on the island will take place on June 7th and 8th, with possible runoffs on the 21st and 22nd.
We start again
Alessandra Todde is formally extending a helping hand to Ligantia F2i, the Italian investment fund that also wants to acquire Cagliari airport, after acquiring Alghero in 2016 and Olbia in 2021. Yesterday, the Regional Council adopted the "Term Sheet," the preliminary agreement signed by the governor to accompany the two-step process that will culminate in the creation of the holding company in which the Region intends to acquire a 9.25% stake, at a cost of thirty million euros. The document is made up of around thirty paragraphs. Section 25, entitled "Documentation, Approvals, and Authorizations," lists the bodies that will oversee the operation's legality. These include the Court of Auditors and Palazzo Chigi; the Ministry of Transport, and the Antitrust Authority.
The times
To close the deal, Ligantia F2i, along with Todde and the Chamber of Commerce of Cagliari and Oristano, the majority shareholder in the capital's airport with 94.4%, have set themselves a deadline of "September 30, 2026," as stated on page 4 of the resolution. But it's clear that the spectre remains the opinion of the accounting judges, who already highlighted several illegalities in 2023. From Ligantia F2i's non-fungibility, its "only declared irreplaceability," the Control Section wrote, to the violation of the Chamber of Commerce's bylaws if it were to manage the Olbia and Alghero airports, because they are outside its jurisdiction. If the Court's adverse opinion were to be repeated, "the parties," yesterday's resolution states, "may jointly decide to proceed with the completion of the transaction, subject to the adoption of specific documents that analytically explain the reasons why they intend to depart" from the "unfavorable" ruling. It remains understood, the text continues, that the Chamber of Commerce and the Region may decide whether or not to adopt the strengthened reasoning."
Process started
The resolution passed yesterday by the Regional Council is called "Industrial Integration of Sardinian Airports." It was the third item on the agenda. The notice calling for the meeting calls for a "non-binding adoption," but the formally initiated process confirms the majority's strong interest in the privatization of the airports. "The Term Sheet," it continues, "expresses the political will to proceed with the operation," even if it "does not give rise to commitments or obligations on the part of any party." The majority no longer has any hostility from the Sinistra Futura party, which, at the March 11 summit convened by Todde to discuss the "airport issue," had taken its time to decide on a definitive position, after months of criticism against the sale of Cagliari airport to Ligantia F2i and the expenditure of €30 million in public money. "The fog has cleared," a party statement reads. "The critical issues identified in the reintroduction of the original privatization have disappeared." For Sinistra Futura, the 9.25% stake that the Region would acquire in the holding company is "intended to allow political control of the operation."
The appeal
In the background is the appeal filed in 2023 by the center-right-led Region. Yesterday's resolution cites the legal matter, pending before the Court of Cagliari, Business Section. It describes the matter as "substantial proceedings still pending." Todde may decide to withdraw the appeal that three years ago suspended the effects of the NSA, the Nord Sardegna Aeroporto (North Sardinia Airports) with which Ligantia F2i unified the management of Olbia and Alghero. This was the basis used by the Cagliari Chamber of Commerce to select the investment fund with a new partner without holding a public tender. The hearing is scheduled for July 7th.
The clash in the Regional Council
Meanwhile, controversy is erupting in the regional council. "The airport issue," claims Paolo Truzzu, leader of the FdI group, "is an issue that concerns all Sardinians." Former Transport Councilor Antonio Moro, a Sardinian supporter, is harsh: "This government is not acting like a left-wing government," says the national president of the PSD'Az, "but like the board of directors of a merchant bank conducting a transaction with a private fund to the detriment of the interests of Sardinians." "We are moving forward united; we have taken all the necessary precautions for the role of the Region." Meanwhile, Campo Largo is uniting on the merger.