ADP-led group offers highest concession fee in Sofia Airport tender
A consortium led by France’s Aeroports de Paris (ADP) has offered the highest concession fee in a tender to operate Sofia Airport, Bulgaria’s main air transport hub, the transport ministry said on Thursday.
Five airport operators and investors from Britain, Germany, France and Denmark bid in a tender for the 35-year concession, with ADP offering to pay 32.8 million euros ($36.69 million) per year or 42.8 percent of the annual revenue, whichever is higher.
Its total offer was well above the 550 million euros – including fees of 7.7 million euros a year, plus a 280 million euro upfront payment – that Bulgaria had been looking to secure.
It also asked for an investment of 600 million euros to cover among other things the building of a third passenger terminal.
ADP, which has teamed up on the bid with Turkey’s TAV Airports, has offered to invest 903 million euros in the airport over the duration of the contract, in addition to its annual concession fee.
The transport ministry plans to pick a winner after a month at the earliest and will assess both the offered fees and the business development plans for the airport, Transport Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said after the binding offers were opened.
“We will be looking very seriously at all the offers. We are happy with the interest shown,” Zhelyazkov said.
Other bidders have committed to spend between 600 million and one billion euros to renovate the airport and expand its shopping and parking areas.
Britain’s largest airport operator, Manchester Airports Group, bidding in a tie-up with China’s construction firm BCEG, also offered an annual concession fee of 20 million euros a year.
Germany’s Fraport, which operates Frankfurt airport, offered 21 million.
A consortium comprising asset manager Meridiam and the operator of Munich Airport offered 24.5 million euros a year, and a tie-up between Copenhagen Airports and SSB Sauernwein & Schaefer made a bid of 26.5 million euros.
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