The consortium made up of VINCI Airports, ORIX and Kansai Airports signed with Kobe City the 42-years concession contract for the operation of Kobe airport (Japan).

 The consortium members have announced the creation of the concession company "Kansai Airports Kobe", wholly owned by Kansai Airports. Created by VINCI Airports (40%) and ORIX (40%), Kansai Airports took over the 44-year Kansai airport and Osaka airport concessions on April 1, 2016.

To support this development, the joint venture aims at operating the three airports – Kansai International, Osaka Itami and Kobe – in an integrated fashion. This will give the Kobe airport the benefit of the other two airports’ resources in order to expand traffic and improve service quality.

 The transfer of airport operations to Kansai Airports Kobe is scheduled for April 1, 2018.

Opened in 2006 and built on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, the Kobe airport is the Kansai region’s third-largest airport. As the leading tourist gateway to Japan, the Kansai region is home to the country’s main tourist centres, including the old imperial city of Kyoto, the port city of Kobe, the commercial and administrative centre of Osaka and the ancient capital city of Nara. The Kansai airports benefit from the robust growth of tourism in Japan as well as the increase in business activity by the low-cost carriers, which are gaining market share.