Fraport AG has refused to rule out the possibility that it will bid for a stake in AENA after the country's prime minister stated he was seeking to sell a 49% stake in the airport operator to steady national finances.

Commenting on Spanish Prime Minister Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's intention to partially privatise AENA, Robert Payne, a spokesman for Fraport, told Global Airport Cities: "Fraport is aware of the Spanish government's declaration of intent regarding its airports. We are always interested in possibly participating within the framework of airport privatizations.

"Western Europe overall is also of interest to us. Currently, we are looking at the parameters of upcoming projects."

The Spanish government has previously said it would sell a smaller 30% stake in AENA, which operates 47  airports, but has now decided on a bigger sale to raise cash to help avert a similar EU bailout to the one Ireland was forced to take last month.

Fraport already has significant stakes or management contracts in some 13 airports, including Peru's Jorge Chavez International Airport, Delhi's Indira Ghandi, Bulgaria's Varna Airport, Xi'an Xianyang in China, Turkey's Anatayla and most recently St Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport.

Payne also confirmed that Fraport, which was involved in the construction of Athens International Airport (AIA), was interested in acquiring a stake in the gateway after the Greek government announced it was seeking to sell its 55% stake in AIA.

By Oliver Clark