The suspension of the concession procedure at Sofia Airport requested by BSP is not provided for in the Concessions Act and there is no legal basis. This was stated by Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov during a briefing, in connection with a request by MPs from the BSP, to stop the concession procedure. The Minister clarified that the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, not the State, is the concessionaire of the procedure. He specified that the only thing that was foreseen between the opening of the procedure and the determination of the concessionaire was either its termination or its extension.
Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov added that the procedure has been prolonged 3 times so far, with the legal grounds for doing so two - removing inconsistencies in the documentation or need for further clarification. At present, applications are expected to be accepted from candidates by 5 February 2019.
"What the BSP colleagues insist on is the European Commission to check the concession contract for state aid is set out in the documentation but at a later stage when there is a certain concessionaire wining the procedure before the treaty enters into force. This is done in order to get acquainted with the specific conditions of the offers and the selection of a concessionaire, so that the EC has reason to decide on the specific parameters offered by the transaction and not the parameters of the project, "said Minister Zhelyazkov. According to him, it is only after the notification of the EC has come out that a contract with the selected concessionaire can be signed.
Regarding the ban on the development of another airport within a radius of 100 km from Sofia Airport, the minister explained that the procedure is intended to prevent the state from constructing or concessioning another state airport. This does not mean that there is a restriction on the construction of airports with private investment. As an example, the Minister pointed out that at the moment, the Civil Aviation Administration examines a project for an investment plan for the construction of a private airport within Sofia and if the master plan meets the requirements of the law, this initiative will be approved and will start building.
Regarding the topic of expropriation of land outside the concession area of the airport, Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov explained that if during the exploitation period there is a need for new territories for the airport, given the construction of new runways and facilities, the state is envisaged to cooperate expropriation of land and their inclusion in the concession area, but without paying for them. He was categorical that the state would not build roads, as alleged, but would assist as necessary in an administrative manner.
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In connection with the serious public interest, we remind you of the concession parameters that show the benefit to the state and the development of the airport. The amount of the initial concession fee is BGN 550 million excluding VAT. The annual concession fee will be equal to the larger of the two: or not less than BGN 15 million or the amount defined as at least 10% of all revenues from the concession object. These 15 million and 10% are the minimum because the concession candidates will be assessed on the basis of their proposals. We expect the annual concession fee to be even higher than the pledged amounts.
The minimum investment on the site amounts to 600 million euros for the duration of the concession. A mandatory investment is the construction of a new Terminal 3 to 10 years from the start of the contract, as well as the construction of a new runway if the study of traffic to the fifth year shows the need for such.
So far, the existing infrastructure at Sofia Airport has exceeded its design capacity, making it necessary to make significant investments to help the airport meet its expected growth. The state can not provide these funds and the logical solution is to involve a private operator to invest in the site and pay an annual concession to the state. It is politically speculative to claim that the concession is being made to spoil the company; on the contrary, the state grants it to a private partner only the right to drive the airport. All airport infrastructure and assets remain public property, including everything built by the concessionaire.
The concession of large transport infrastructure sites is a constant priority of the government's policy for the development of the transport sector in Bulgaria. The award of state concessions in the sector was not and should not be an end in itself. MTITC will continue to ensure the effectiveness of this process and the new requirements of national and European legislation introduced with a view to modernizing, maintaining and developing key transport infrastructure sites.
