May 17 (SeeNews) - SOF Connect, the concessionaire of Bulgaria's Sofia Airport, plans to invest 150 million levs ($83.5 million/76.7 million euro) over the next three years to accelerate the airport's development, it said on Wednesday.
The concession-holder will invest over 50 million levs annually in the airport's development, exceeding the amount set in the concession contract by two-thirds, or 60 million levs, SOF Connect said in a press release. Over the 35-year concession period, the company aims to invest a total of over 1.2 billion levs in Sofia Airport's development.
"We are also working on improving the air connectivity of the city and the country - more destinations from Sofia Airport mean new businesses and more jobs, as well as promoting the country internationally," Sofia Airport CEO Jesús Caballero said.
The investment plan is part of a broader strategic programme to establish the airport of the Bulgarian capital as a five-star regional hub and build a third passenger terminal by 2030. Key projects include constructing a 20-megawatt photovoltaic park, with the first five megawatts expected to be operational by 2025. A new Terminal 3 is scheduled to be completed in 2030, whereas the main Terminal 2 will undergo a major overhaul and take over flights from the older Terminal 1.
Other improvements consist of doubling the number of check-in counters, increasing security and border control lines, adding a new shopping area and a new restaurant and bar section and introducing a new baggage handling system in 2023. Additionally, the concessionaire will introduce three boarding bridges for long-haul flights, three public car parks and repairs to the airfield and runway.
Last month, SOF Connect, which is owned at 99% by French private equity firm Meridiam, said it plans to invest 40 million levs in the reconstruction of Terminal 2 by the end of 2025.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)