Serbia has invited bids for a 25-year concession to operate Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport, the biggest in the Western Balkan region.
The prime minister Aleksandar Vucic said in December his cabinet expects €400 million (Dh1.56bn) from the sale of the airport, one of the most profitable state-run firms in the Balkan country.
Belgrade is required to sell off state-owned companies, including the airport, as part of a €1.2bn loan deal agreed with the IMF in 2015.
Airports in Europe are often seen as attractive infrastructure investments due to expected passenger growth in the region and several other privatisations are underway, including the airport in Sofia.
The Nikola Tesla airport, located 17km from Belgrade’s city centre, serviced 4.92 million passengers in 2016, or 3 per cent more than a year earlier.
Under the terms of the offer, published in the government’s Official Gazette, bidders will have 60 days to submit non-binding bids for financing, development, maintenance and managing of the airport.
On Monday, shares in Aerodrom Nikola Tesla rose to US$9.90 or up 1.8 per cent compared to Friday.
In the first nine months of 2016, Nikola Tesla airport reported a net profit of 2.4 billion (Dh756,880) dinars, a 13 per cent increase compared with the previous year.
Under terms of the offer, prospective bidders, companies or consortia, must not have more than a 20 per cent stake in an airport within the range of 450km that serviced more than 1 million passengers in 2016.
The prospective bidders are also required to have accumulated capital worth more than €500m or available financial resources of more than €500m, the offer said.
* Reuters
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