site.btaConcession Award Procedure for Sofia Airport Extended until End-November

Concession Award Procedure for  Sofia Airport Extended until End-November

Sofia, September 12 (BTA) - The Transport, IT and Communications Ministry will extend the concession award procedure for Sofia Airport by a month until the end of November at the request of three companies which have shown an interest, Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski told journalists.

The Ministry's website has had more than 1,000 visits and about 700 questions asked by potentially interested companies.

Moskovski is participating in The Role of Airports in the European Union and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Conference in Sofia, organized by the American Association of Airport Executives and the US Embassy with the Transport Ministry's support. Some of the largest US airports are represented at the forum.

Moskovski said it would be great if some of the major US companies showed an interest in the concession. He recalled that safety and security measures are some of the key selection criteria.

The Transport Minister denied that Sofia Airport cannot be extended. He said that it can handle up to 10 million passengers with one runway and a second runway should be built for more passengers.

He commented: "The last few years have seen an increase in the volume of business at Sofia Airport and I am convinced that it has a potential. It may be an overstatement to say that Sofia Airport could become a regional leader given Istanbul Airport's traffic volume, but it does have a place in the region."

The forum is expected to provide an impetus to relations regarding security and communication among airports in Southeastern Europe. This is the first time Bulgaria has hosted such a high-level event in the sector. Previous forums were held in Croatia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.