site.btaRuling Party and Opposition Clash in Parliament over Renewed Concession Procedure for Sofia Airport
NW 14:26:01 28-06-2018
LN1425NW.115
115 - ECONOMY - POLITICS - SOFIA AIRPORT - CONCESSION
Ruling Party and Opposition Clash in
Parliament over Renewed Concession
Procedure for Sofia Airport
Sofia, June 28 (BTA) - The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Thursday accused the power-holders of making a decision in the dark to restart the concession procedure for Sofia Airport and urged Parliament to make the offer public. In Response, Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski assured the opposition that the procedure is fully compliant with the concessions legislation and that a call to tender will be published shortly in the EU official gazette.
The debate came a day after the government, at its weekly meeting Wednesday, decided to reopen the procedure for selling a concession for Sofia Airport. The item was not on the agenda for the meeting.
A concession award procedure for Sofia Airport was first opened in 2016. The government's idea then was to get 500 million leva pre-VAT or more in upfront concession royalties and use the money to repay BDZ's debts and purchase trains. The Socialists used every opportunity to slam the concession plans, as did the trade unions and the airport employees. The concession procedure was called off in 2017 by a caretaker government.
Socialist MP Georgi Svilenski pointed out that nobody knowns the parameters for the procedure - other than the Ministry officials who have prepared it, and said it is inadmissible to make such a decision and keep Parliament in the dark about the prices, the terms, the timeframe and other details.
The Socialists reiterated their stance against the concession plans and argued that the airport makes a hefty profit and giving it to a concessionaire would be wrong. They even moved a draft resolution for suspending the government decision for opening the procedure.
Recalling the initial idea to use the airport concession royalty for bailing out BDZ, he said that a deadline for paying up to the BDZ creditors expired on June 27. It means that as of this day the BDZ headquarters in central Sofia as well as 1,200 train cars which have been distrained, can be sold any time now.
Transport Minister Moskovski explained to the press that the entire Sofia Airport concession file is 2,000 pages and an invitation to concession competition is going to be published in the official gazette of the EU to ensure level playing field for all potential participants. He assured the Socialists that the procedure is flawless, is fully compliant with the Concessions Act and the World Bank has been a consultant in the concession project.
He also dismissed allegations about large-scale layoffs at the airport and said that some 100 people were newly recruited in the recent months.
He said that the concession is not going to cause a change in ownership and Sofia Airport will remain public state property, just like the airports in the Black Sea cities of Varna and Bourgas, where concessions were awarded under a Socialist government.
As for BDZ, Moskovski said that talks with the BDZ bond holders have been on for more than a week now in a bid to lower the penal interest. Also, the Finance Minister has promised to secure an interest-free loan from the state budget so that no BDZ assets have to be sold. SN/LN/
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LN1425NW.115
115 - ECONOMY - POLITICS - SOFIA AIRPORT - CONCESSION
Ruling Party and Opposition Clash in
Parliament over Renewed Concession
Procedure for Sofia Airport
Sofia, June 28 (BTA) - The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Thursday accused the power-holders of making a decision in the dark to restart the concession procedure for Sofia Airport and urged Parliament to make the offer public. In Response, Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski assured the opposition that the procedure is fully compliant with the concessions legislation and that a call to tender will be published shortly in the EU official gazette.
The debate came a day after the government, at its weekly meeting Wednesday, decided to reopen the procedure for selling a concession for Sofia Airport. The item was not on the agenda for the meeting.
A concession award procedure for Sofia Airport was first opened in 2016. The government's idea then was to get 500 million leva pre-VAT or more in upfront concession royalties and use the money to repay BDZ's debts and purchase trains. The Socialists used every opportunity to slam the concession plans, as did the trade unions and the airport employees. The concession procedure was called off in 2017 by a caretaker government.
Socialist MP Georgi Svilenski pointed out that nobody knowns the parameters for the procedure - other than the Ministry officials who have prepared it, and said it is inadmissible to make such a decision and keep Parliament in the dark about the prices, the terms, the timeframe and other details.
The Socialists reiterated their stance against the concession plans and argued that the airport makes a hefty profit and giving it to a concessionaire would be wrong. They even moved a draft resolution for suspending the government decision for opening the procedure.
Recalling the initial idea to use the airport concession royalty for bailing out BDZ, he said that a deadline for paying up to the BDZ creditors expired on June 27. It means that as of this day the BDZ headquarters in central Sofia as well as 1,200 train cars which have been distrained, can be sold any time now.
Transport Minister Moskovski explained to the press that the entire Sofia Airport concession file is 2,000 pages and an invitation to concession competition is going to be published in the official gazette of the EU to ensure level playing field for all potential participants. He assured the Socialists that the procedure is flawless, is fully compliant with the Concessions Act and the World Bank has been a consultant in the concession project.
He also dismissed allegations about large-scale layoffs at the airport and said that some 100 people were newly recruited in the recent months.
He said that the concession is not going to cause a change in ownership and Sofia Airport will remain public state property, just like the airports in the Black Sea cities of Varna and Bourgas, where concessions were awarded under a Socialist government.
As for BDZ, Moskovski said that talks with the BDZ bond holders have been on for more than a week now in a bid to lower the penal interest. Also, the Finance Minister has promised to secure an interest-free loan from the state budget so that no BDZ assets have to be sold. SN/LN/
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