New owner for Ansett terminal

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Sydney Airport Corp (SACL) has bought Ansett's Sydney domestic terminal lease for A$200m ($107m), Ansett administrators said yesterday. The airport company said it would now invite discussions with potential users and commercial tenants. SACL will take over the operations of Australian Concessions Management, which was a division of the bankrupt airline's parent company.

Sydney airport chief executive Tony Stuart said the terminal would be open to existing and new airlines. The sale also paves the way for a smooth passage of the SACL privatisation.

The former Ansett Australia terminal building will handle up to 12m passengers per year, most likely for the domestic operations of Virgin Blue and Qantas. Discussions are continuing on the fate of Ansett's facilities at other Australian airports.