Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday pledged to help Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TAIC) raise funds after financial losses at the state-run company are expected to increase due to travel to the nation remaining restricted.
Wang made the remarks after local media reported that the operator of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is on the brink of bankruptcy and would next month need help from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) to secure a NT$10 billion (US$358.78 million) loan.
“We will assist the company in raising the capital, so it can continue constructions of Terminal 3 and a third runway,” Wang said, adding that the company has been asked to present a plan to raise the funds.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-chung (祁文中) said that the fully ministry-owned airport operator would not go bankrupt.
The airport needs additional funding as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a revenue shortfall, Chi said, adding that the company is offering relief funding to service providers at the airport.
The airport’s revenue would rebound once borders are reopened, Chi said.
TAIC senior vice president Hung Yu-fen (洪玉芬) said the company has accumulated losses of NT$5 billion because of the pandemic, adding that annual losses rose to NT$3.1 billion last year from NT$1.9 billion in 2020.
Projecting losses of NT$6.3 billion this year, Hung said that the firm’s budget plan for this fiscal year has been submitted to the legislature.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration is expected to allocate NT$900 million from the Civil Aviation Operating Fund to replenish the company’s capital after the legislature passes the budget, she said.
“We have proposed many methods to raise the funding, including adjusting the fees we charge service providers at the airport. However, any pricing adjustment would be useless if there are no passengers at the airport,” she said.
Asked about a NT$10 billion loan that the company is reportedly planning to secure next month, Hung said the funding would be used for construction projects at the airport, not for covering operating losses.
Company data showed that the passenger numbers at the airport reached 48.68 million in 2019 reached, but dropped to 910,000 last year, the lowest since 1979.
Although the airport’s cargo volume reached a record 2.81 million tonnes last year, cargo income did not make up for the losses from its passenger business, the data showed.
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