ADP-led group offers highest concession fee in Sofia Airport tender

Copenhagen Airports A/S

09/05/2019 13:04

SOFIA, May 9 (Reuters) - A consortium led by France's
Aeroports de Paris (ADP)  ADP.PA  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  FRAG.DE , 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  KBHL.CO  and SSB
Sauernwein & Schaefer made a bid of 26.5 million euros.
    
($1 = 0.8882 euros)

 (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Jan Harvey)
 ((tsvetelia.tsolova@thomsonreuters.com; +359-2-93-99-731;))