June 3 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's transport ministry said on Friday it launched a tender for 35-year concession of Sofia Airport seeking at least 550 million levs ($313.6 million/281.4 million euro) in a one-off concession payment.
The concessionaire should also pay an annual fee amounting to at least 7% of its net revenue and not less than 9.95 million levs, the transport ministry said in a press release.
The concessionaire will also have to invest at least 306.5 million levs in the airport for the entire term of the concession contract. The required investments include the construction of a new passenger terminal with a capacity to handle three million passengers per year and infrastructure upgrades.
Candidates should have prior experience as operators of at least one international airport with passenger traffic exceeding 6 million passengers per year.
The tender terms give greatest weight to the one-off concession payment and annual fees - 55% of a candidate's total assessment, while the proposed business plan carries 25% weight.
In May, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair chief commercial officer said he had met with government officials and suggested an alternative approach for the selection of a concessionaire of the Sofia Airport which includes a requirement of reaching 13.5 million passenger traffic by 2026.
The tender for granting a concession of Sofia Airport is part of a national strategy for development of the country's transport system by 2020, the government added.
In an interview for a local daily published in May, transport minister Ivaylo Moskovski said that as potential bidders for the Sofia airport concession he sees the operators of Munich, Frankfurt, Zurich, Lyon, Dublin, and Heathrow airports, as well as VINCI airports.
Sofia Airport's first quarter net profit rose 5.4% year-on-year to 1.88 million levs, driven by higher sales.
In 2015, Sofia Airport serviced some 4 million passengers.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)