Munich Airport-led group to operate Sofia airport

SOFIA, July 19 (AFP): A consortium led by Munich Airport has won a government tender for a 35-year concession to run Sofia airport, Bulgaria's transport minister announced recently.

Four other bidders -- groups led by France's Aeroports de Paris, Britain's Manchester Airports Group and Denmark's Copenhagen Airport, as well as Germany's Fraport -- also competed in the tender to run and operate Bulgaria's largest airport.

Transport Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said the tender committee chose Munich Airport and Paris-based infrastructure investment fund Meridiam.

Their offer is based on a concession fee of 32 per cent of total revenue or a minimum of 24.5 million euros ($27.5 million) a year, with a pre-payment of 281 million euros and a total 608 million euros in investment.

The new operator plans to build a new terminal within the next 10 years and to bring the number of passengers up to 23 million in 2050.

Some 35 airlines currently operate from Sofia's only airport, which is Bulgaria's busiest despite suffering from obsolete infrastructure.

It served close to seven million people in 2018 with passenger numbers rising slightly in this year's first six months, airport statistics show.

Aeroports de Paris (ADP) and Manchester Airports Group were the early frontrunners but ADP came second, while third was Fraport, which already operates two smaller airports in Bulgaria's Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas.