Amsterdam, which has veto power over the privatization of airport operator Schiphol Group, says it will not decide on the issue until late September, sharply curtailing the time the current government has to sell a stake in the firm.

If Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm does not sell a minority stake in the Amsterdam airport operator before general elections on November 22, a new government might scrap the plan.

The opposition Labour party, currently leading in opinion polls for the election, opposes the privatization of Schiphol Group, which also holds stakes in Brisbane Airport and Terminal 4 of New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

The finance ministry has put the total value of Schiphol Group at several billion euros.

The company has said it would be easier to take stakes in foreign airports if it were at least partially privatized and listed on a stock exchange.

The city of Amsterdam, which holds 21.8 percent of Schiphol Group, currently opposes the privatization, and told Zalm in a letter on Wednesday that the city council would only be able to discuss the matter on September 27 after the summer recess.

The alderwoman responsible for the city's shareholdings, Carolien Gehrels, asked Zalm in the letter to take the city's deliberations into account before calling a Schiphol Group shareholders meeting to discuss the privatization.

Gehrels said the city was not dragging its feet. "We have our own democratic process that ends at the end of September... For us it is a very important issue and we cannot be quicker than this," she said.

The law that allows the state to sell just under 50 percent has passed parliament, but Amsterdam can block the privatization because it requires a change in Schiphol's articles of association, which 80 percent of shareholders must approve.

Zalm already voiced doubt in July on whether he could strike a deal with Amsterdam before the elections.