February 25 (SeeNews) - Slovenia will shortly probe investor interest in managing its Maribor Airport, whose operations have been under the temporary control of state-run investment management firm Druzba za Upravljanje Investicij (DRI) since July 2019, local media reported.
The transport ministry is preparing a public call to check the interest of private investors in managing the airport, state broadcaster RTV Slovenija reported earlier this week, quoting information from the ministry.
"We expect that the public call will be announced soon," the ministry officials said.
In July, DRI temporarily took control of the airport following the exit of airport operator Aerodrom Maribor, owned by SHS Aviation, a Slovenian-registered company controlled by Chinese capital.
In January 2019, the transport ministry said that Aerodrom Maribor had announced the unilateral termination of a 15-year concession deal signed in March 2017 over disagreement with the ministry on the establishment of a sustainable and acceptable economic model for the management of the airport.
SHS Aviation purchased the operator of Maribor Airport for 7 million euro ($7.6 million) in December 2016.
($ = 0.9221 euro)