FRA/rap-th> Fraport AG confirmed this morning conclusion of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Celanese/Ticona.  Under this LOI, Celanese/Ticona will close its chemical plant at Kelsterbach by the middle of 2011, remove aeronautical obstacles within one month thereafter, and transfer the entire site to Fraport  by 2015.  The land required for Frankfurt Airport's new landing runway will be transferred to Fraport immediately after signing a contract agreement.  As compensation, Fraport will pay €650 million to Celanese/Ticona.

Negotiations for the final contracts, based on this LOI, will take place within the next few months.  These final contracts will be presented to Fraport's annual general meeting (AGM).  A new job-creation company, to be established by Fraport with participation of the State of Hesse, will take over the employees of Celanese/Ticona.

Fraport executive board chairman Dr. Wilhelm Bender views the intended  agreement as a "rationality pact."  For Fraport, the most important aspect is the "expeditious expansion of Frankfurt Airport" and "securing a positive economic future for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region."  The point is to terminate the previous and public disputes about airport expansion, because of "our responsibility for the community and the people. " 

For Bender, it is also a matter of securing FRA's future competitiveness.  "In the interest of our customers as  well as Fraport AG we want to ensure a secure timeframe."  "We have to be able to implement the new northwest landing runway in 2011," said Bender.  And he added, "Time is money.  Every day that the vibrant global aviation market passes us by is a lost day for the company and its employees – and also for the nation, the region, and its people."

– ENDS –

Note to Editors:

A press conference with Hesse prime minister Koch, Fraport's Dr. Bender, and Celanese/Ticona's Mr. Pohlmann will be held today at 14:00 CET at the Staatskanzlei in Wiesbaden, where detailed information on the LOI will be available. 

For More Information, Please Contact:
Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. – Manager International Press
Press Office (Dept. UKM-PS), Corporate Communications (UKM)
60547 Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany
Tel.: +49 69.690.78547; Fax: +49.69.690.60548;
E-mail:  r.payne@fraport.de