Capital Airports Holding, which operates 34 airports on the Chinese mainland, plans to expand its presence in Latin America, according to senior managers of its unit in Colombia. The mainland’s largest airport manager was participating in an open tender for the rights to renovate and manage six airports in Peru, CAH Colombia deputy chief executive Oscar Hernandez told the South China Morning Post.

At a projected capital expenditure of nearly US$240 million, the winner is expected to be picked by March next year. The state-owned company, the ultimate parent of listed Beijing Capital International Airport, would also participate in the next two rounds of airport concessions in Colombia, Hernandez said, adding that it was considering opportunities in Brazil, Chile and other regional countries.

Capital Airports is the commercial airport construction and management arm of the Civil Aviation Administration of China and its only overseas operation currently is in Colombia, where CAH Colombia’s 20 per cent-held consortium Air Plan won a concession in March last year to upgrade and run six Colombian airports for up to 25 years.