French Firm Sounds Out Concession of Defunct Bulgarian Airport

The concession of the nearby airport in the Bulgarian Danube city of Ruse will turn it to an even more important transportation center in Europe. File photo

A French company has declared interest in the concession of the Shtraklevo Airport near the Bulgarian Danube city of Ruse, a ruling party MP has announced.

MP Plamen Nunev from the GERB party has announced in Ruse that the meeting with the potential French investors for the concession of the airport took part on March 30, 2011, at the Ministry of Transport in Sofia.

The Bulgarian government announced the decision to offer the Ruse Airport on concession on March 2; interested businesses are expected to submit their bidders within 90 days of the announced, with Nunev expecting more potential investors to show up in the remaining 60 days, as cited by BTA.

"We don't want intermediaries, we want to talk only to direct airport operators so that we can pick the best one," the MP explained.

He emphasized that the most realistic scenario for the Ruse Airport is to develop it as a low-tariff cargo hub thanks to its location which allows combining air transport with the Danube river port, railways, and roads. The runway of the Ruse Airport is 2 500 meters long.

The restoration of the activities of the Ruse Airport as a civil airport for public use is one of the priorities of the Bulgarian Transport Ministry and is included in the Strategy for Development of Transport Infrastructure in Bulgaria until 2015.

The proposed term of the concession is 35 years and the concessionaires will be determined through an open procedure.

The Bulgarian state has already failed twice to find a concessionaire for the Ruse Airport "Shtraklevo".

At the same time, Shtraklevo's proximity to Bucharest - only 60 km away - might make it rather attractive as a reserve, or alternative airport for the Romanian capital.

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