THE £52 million price paid for Cardiff Airport by the Welsh Government – which many claimed was far more than its market value – was justified, an independent report has found.

The Welsh Government bought the struggling airport in 2013 in the wake of concerns around falling passenger numbers and the potential impact of its failure on the country’s economy.

A report by Auditor General for Wales Huw Vaughan Thomas into the purchase and management of the airport was released today, Wednesday, and detailed a number of findings and recommendations.

Among these were that alternative options such as entering into a partnership with a private firm were not given proper consideration but that the purchase price was justified given assumptions around the airport’s commercial value.

Mr Thomas said “Turning the airport around is proving more challenging than the Welsh Government expected at the time of the acquisition, despite some positive developments.

"The airport is operating in a highly competitive environment and is coming from an inherited low base.

“The Welsh Government needs to use the results of the independent review it has recently commissioned to establish a clear understanding of the overall financial health of the airport and likely future finance requirements.”

Mr Thomas set out a series of seven recommendations in his report to improve the airport’s commercial viability and return to the taxpayer, including appointing a non-Welsh Government figure to the board of Holdco, the organisation set up to run the site.

The report also suggests Holdco should be given greater powers to make its own director appointments and veto others where it is considered appropriate and also that a clearer set of objectives to improve the airport’s impact on employment, the environment, tourism and other areas is set out.

Chairman of the Welsh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee and Conservative AM for Clwyd West Darren Millar said: “It is clear from the Auditor General’s report that the Welsh Government’s assumptions on future commercial performance of Cardiff Airport have not been realised, at least in the short-term.

“This raises important questions about the purchase price of the airport, the longer-term prospects for growth, and for a return on the Welsh Government’s investment should it decide to sell some or all of its stake in the airport in the future.

“The Public Accounts Committee will be taking evidence on the Auditor General’s report over the next fortnight.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We were right to rescue Cardiff Airport from a downward spiral in private ownership.

"The report by the Auditor General for Wales confirms we took appropriate due diligence before purchasing the airport and that the governance arrangements since the acquisition have had a positive impact.

“While the recommendations will help inform the airport’s future development, it ultimately shows thatCardiff Airport is in a much stronger position as a result of our intervention.

"Last month Cardiff Airport achieved a 56 per cent rise in passenger numbers compared with the previous year.

"With a 13 per cent annual increase in passengers using Cardiff Airport during 2015, forecasts for this year could make Cardiff airport one of the fastest growing airports in the UK.”

To view the full report click here.