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<p>The Government is clear that the Northwest Runway scheme will be financed in its
entirety by the private sector. As a private company, decisions that could impact
its credit rating are a matter for Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) and its investors.</p><p>
</p><p>The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent economic regulator,
has a duty to ensure that HAL can finance its airport operations. In its CAP1832 working
paper on financial resilience and ring-fencing, published in August 2019, the CAA
considered that the potential for a regulatory obligation on HAL to maintain an investment
grade credit rating was worthy of further exploration. Comments from stakeholders
are invited by 11 October 2019 ahead of a further working paper on the matter.</p><p>
</p><p>The Government, with our independent expert advisers, and the CAA have conducted
assurance work on the finance and affordability of HAL’s expansions proposals. This
work has concluded that, so far as can be assessed at this stage of the process, and
assuming current market conditions, HAL is in principle able to privately finance
expansion without government support.</p><p> </p>
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