March 14 (SeeNews) - Russia's Novaport intends to bid in the tender for awarding a concession contract to operate Serbia's Belgrade Nikola Tesla airport and plans to invest $250 million (235 million euro) in its development, according to Russian media reports.
Airport holding company Novaport will run alone in the tender and plans to fund part of the investments in Belgrade airport through a loan, Russian news agency RBK quoted Roman Trotsenko, the president of Aeon Corporation, which owns 50% of Novaport, as saying on Monday.
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The winner in the tender will be announced by the end of March, said Trotsenko, a former president of the Swiss unit of Rosneft in the period between 2012 and 2015.
"We consider that Belgrade is an interesting point. It could be used as a hub for the transport of Russian tourists to Central, Eastern and Western Europe," RBK quoted Trotsenko as saying.
Earlier this month, Russian media reported that airport holding and management company Airports of Regions, owned by Russian tycoon Victor Vekselberg, also plans to bid for the concession of Belgrade airport.
Last month, Serbia's government said it is inviting bids for a 25-year concession on Belgrade Nikola Tesla international airport. Prospective bidders must not own more than 20% interest in the concessionaire of an airport, which is located within a 450 km radius from Belgrade and has serviced more than one million passengers in 2016. Infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic said on Monday that 27 companies have placed bids in the pre-qualification stage of the tendering process.
Air Serbia launched in June a flight connecting Belgrade to Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo airport, operated by Northern Capital Gateway LLC, an international consortium of VTB Capital, Fraport, and Copelouzos Group, a company owned by Greek tycoon Dimitrios Copelouzos.
Both Airports of Regions and Novaport are among the potential buyers of part of the capital of the operator of Pulkovo from VTB Capital, according to Russian media reports.
Novaport operates airports in ten Russian cities, according to data form the company's website.
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