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The Slovenian government has launched tender procedures in a bid to find an interested concessionaire for Maribor Airport, which has become the former Yugoslavia’s least busy. The new operator would be required to maintain and supervise airport infrastructure, as well as develop operations. The concession will be granted for a period of up to ten years with a possibility for its extension. Interested parties have until February 20 to submit their bids, after which talks will begin. “The Ministry of Infrastructure continues its activities to create development opportunities for Maribor Airport, by establishing market niches that are yet to be covered by surrounding competitive airports in order to enable the accessibility of the entire Podravska region as well as the Carinthia, Savinja and Pomurska regions, as well as the development of the tourism sector and the economy”, the government said in a statement. The new public call marks the second attempt by the Slovenian government to give Maribor Airport up for concession, with the first ending in lawsuits after the Chinese operator SHS Aviation unilaterally pulled out two years into its fifteen-year management agreement in 2019. SHS accused the government of failing to adopt a spatial plan for the area, preventing it from delivering on its ambitious infrastructure expansion plans, which were deemed unrealistic. However, the government is yet to adopt a spatial plan. Since the Chinese operator pulled out of its concession agreement, the airport has been managed by the state-owned consulting and engineering company DRI. During recent talks with Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet, the Slovenian government suggested the budget carriers consider operations to the country’s second largest city as an alternative to Ljubljana, which the trio have accused of having high airport fees. However, neither of the three have shown interest in operating to Maribor under current commercial terms. Ryanair briefly flew to the city almost fifteen years ago. Maribor Airport handled just over 4.000 passengers last year. The majority of its traffic is generated through charters carrying sports teams. Slovenia’s two other commercial airports – Ljubljana and Portorož – have both been privatised.
EX-YU Aviation NewsBy: EX-YU Aviationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]
Title: Slovenia issues public call for Maribor Airport concession
Sourced From: www.exyuaviation.com/2023/01/slovenia-issues-public-call-for-maribor.html
Published Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2023 01:07:00 +0000
