March 23 (SeeNews) - French group Vinci Airports, which signed on Thursday a 25-year concession contract for the operation of Serbia's Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, said it will start operating the airport after six months.
After the signing of the concession agreement, a six-month period starts, during which Vinci Airports has to meet the conditions precedent detailed in the concession, such as the signing and entry into force of the financing agreements, the French company said in a statement on Thursday.
"We believe in the high potential of Belgrade as a leisure and business destination and we want to help the airport realise this potential," the president of Vinci Airports, Nicolas Notebaert, said in the statement.
As a concessionaire, Vinci Airports will aim to support flag carrier Air Serbia to offer new long-haul routes as part of its hub strategy. Vinci Airports will build on its partnerships with over 200 airlines to further increase the airport’s traffic and connectivity, in line with Serbia’s strong economic growth potential, the company said.
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport will serve as the company's hub in Southeast Europe, a geographical area in which Vinci Airports has not operated until now, the group added.
Serbia's government said in a separate statement on Thursday that the French company will pay 417 million euro ($513.8 million) to the Serbian government and 84 million euro to the retail shareholders of airport operator Aerodrom Nikola Tesla [BEL:AERO] for the concession plus an annual concession fee of between 4.4 million euro and 15.1 million euro.
($ = 0.811528 euro)