Alibaba in Liège, it's done!

Business

It is up to us that the board of directors of Liège Airport has just mandated its CEO Luc Partoune to officially sign with the management of the Chinese giant of e-commerce his arrival on the tarmac of Liège. The signing is expected sometime next week. Meanwhile, Luc Partoune has also been mandated to negotiate with the American operator TNT / FedEx, Liege Airport's first customer, the conditions for its further development in the heart of Liège airport. Two good news, therefore, on the employment front, one in the short term, the other in the longer term.

Tensions had appeared in recent days in this file. Aéroports de Paris, a 25% shareholder in Liège Airport, twice blocked Liège Airport's board of directors' approval of Alibaba's arrival. Behind the scenes, it was pointed out that the French shareholder defended the interests of TNT / FedEx who was wondering about the consequences of the arrival of Alibaba on its own expansion at Liege Airport. The last questions have obviously been overcome. Opening the way for the imminent arrival of the Chinese Alibaba in Liège.

There will therefore be no open war between Alibaba and TNT / FedEx in Liège. Both will therefore coexist in the years to come, which will diversify the airport's revenue sources in a rapidly growing sector, that of logistics and parcel delivery. The airport and Walloon authorities have probably not spared these last few days to convince the American group that there was room for everyone.

Prior to the Liège Airport board meeting, another board of directors had been held at Sowaer, which owns 25% of Liège Airport. On the agenda, the approval of an agreement allowing, via an emphyteutic lease, to transfer to Liège Airport the exploitation of a plot of 22 hectares intended to accommodate the activities Alibaba.