Bulgaria Launches Tender To Operate Sofia Airport

Bulgaria is launching a tender to operate Sofia airport for 35 years, a deal expected to bring in BGN1.2 billion levs (USD$695 million) for the state.

Operators of airports in Munich, Frankfurt, Zurich, Lyon, Dublin and London Heathrow, as well as companies from Qatar, Turkey and China, have expressed initial interest in the tender for the Balkan country's main airport, Transport Minister Ivailo Moskovski said.

"There will be a large advance payment at the beginning of the concession," Moskovski told reporters after the government's decision to launch the tender. "The net effect for the state for the whole period is expected to be around BGN1.2 billion levs."

The government hopes to grant a concession to operate the airport, used by more than four million passengers in 2015, by the end of the year.

The tender's initial bidding price is expected to start at about BGN570 million levs. The winner will also have to make smaller annual payments throughout the term of the concession, Moskovski has said.

The exact details of the tender will be published in the next few days, he said.

The government launched a tender to operate the airport at the country's second-largest city, Plovdiv, at the end of March. Offers are expected by June 15.

Bulgaria's Black Sea airports at Varna and Burgas are operated by a consortium led by Fraport since 2006.

Budget airline Ryanair, which plans to make Sofia airport one of its bases in Europe from September and to launch over 20 new destinations, urged the government to choose a bidder which can promise to triple passenger traffic in 10 years rather than focus on the concession fees offered.