Bulgaria seeks $382m from Sofia Airport concession

The Bulgarian government started a tender for a 35-year concession to operate Sofia Airport, the country’s biggest, demanding at least 660m lev (US$382m) in initial payment. The concessionaire will be required to invest at least 307m lev in the airport, which includes building a new terminal with an annual capacity of 3m passengers, to replace its oldest one, the Transport Ministry said Friday. The government also seeks a minimal annual concession fee of 10m lev, or at least 7% of the airport’s net annual revenue, the Ministry said. Possible candidates for the concession include Spain’s Ferrovial SA, operator of London’s Heathrow airport; Fraport AG, which runs Bulgarian Black Sea airports Varna and Bourgas; Vinci SA, Turkey’s Limak Holding AS, operator of Munich Airport, Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski said in May.<br/>