China's Symbiose consortium joins French airport shareholders

PARIS - France has officially handed over a significant chunk of Toulouse Blagnac airport in southwestern France to a Chinese-led consortium in a deal worth 308 million euros ($332 million), an official document showed on Friday.

In a text published in the state official gazette, France, which aims to beef up its revenue via selling off state assets, said the Chinese consortium, made up of Chinese State-owned group Shandong Hi-Speed Group and Hong Kong-based investment firm Friedmann Pacific Asset Managemen, henceforth owns 49.99 percent of the airport.

"It is a new page in the history of our airport that is being turned. Symbiose will give new life to the development of our platform. This evolution is a continuity of the work accomplished over the last few years by the employees of the Toulouse Blagnac airport, and who are committed to the success of the Symbiose project, and the economy of the region," Jean-Michel Vernhes, Toulouse Blagnac airport president said.

According to the airport management board, China's capital injection in the airport aims at bolstering dynamism in the region and promoting its growth and development.

Symbiose aims to raise Toulouse air traffic to 18 million passengers by 2046 compared to 7.5 millions reported last year.