This article is part of a daily series of MegaProjects articles. If you want to know more about PPP projects with a considerable size visit our MegaProjects section. You can receive them by email on a daily basis.

Japan has launched the bidding process to award the rights to operate and improve facilities at Sendai Airport, the nation's 10th busiest airport.

Foreign and domestic bidders are both eligible to participate in the tender process for the operation of the airport's runways and hangar facilities for up to 65 years. The initial duration will be 30 years and there will be an Option Extension due to force majeure.

The tender process is governed by Japan's Act on the Promotion of Private Finance Initiative (Act No.117 of 1999) and the Act on Operation of National Airports Utilizing Skills of the Private Sector (Act No.67 of 2013). Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will be the grantor of the contract.

A Briefing Session took place on July 4th. The period of acceptance of questions started on July 4th and finishes on August 8th. Questions and answers will be disclosed on September 30th. 

The schedule of the tender process is the following:

• Dec 5, 2014: Submission deadline for the first bid
• May 19, 2015: Submission deadline for the second bid
• Sometime around Aug, 2015: Selection of the Preferred Negotiation Right Holder
• Sometime around Nov, 2015: Establishment of the Right to Operate
• Conclusion of the Project Agreement
• End of Mar, 2016: Launch of Operation 

Sendai Airport is an airport located in Natori, Miyagi, 13.6 km (8.5 mi) southeast of Sendai Station. On 11 March 2011, the airport was first damaged by the 2011 TÅ?hoku earthquake and then badly flooded by the subsequent tsunami. In addition to submerging the tarmac, taxiways and runway, the floodwaters reached up to parts of the 2nd level of the passenger terminal, rendering electrical equipment, transformers and safety equipment inoperable.