"Belgrade airport heading for privatization or concession"

"Belgrade airport heading for privatization or concession"

Vucic told a press conference that a privatization adviser had not been found, as "six potential advisers are off the table since they asked for more money than could be afforded."

“We are now going to negotiate directly and find the best solution. Everyone says that we have a big chance to sign a concession agreement for a large amount of money, but we will not be able to do this without ‘Air Serbia’,” the prime minister pointed out.

He reiterated that "once, the airport was worth EUR 100 million" while he now believes it will be possible to get "EUR 500 million for it."

French companies have been mentioned on several occasions as potential candidates to be granted a concession. French Ambassador Christine Moro last fall told Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali that French companies Bouygues and Vinci are both interested in this investment.

The Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure meanwhile said on several occasions there are potential investors from all over the world - Western Europe, Turkey, the Middle and the Far East.

The newspaper said that while the Chinese "showed willingness to invest in all kinds of infrastructural projects in Serbia - it is not public knowledge whether they proposed something more precise pertaining to the airport."

In a memorandum signed with International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Serbian government stated it will consider the possibility of allowing a long-term concession. Moreover, it made a commitment to reconstruct and expand the airport's capacities.

"It was rumored that the airport would be given to an investor on a 20-year concession, during which they would be entitled to collect the overall profit and in return, the state would ask that they build another runway, a third terminal to be used exclusively by Air Serbia, a hotel and the biggest regional cargo center," writes the daily, adding that "total sum of the mentioned investments would amount to around EUR 1 billion."

The airport, meanwhile, has been successful over the past two years, with the 2015 profit exceeding RSD 2.6 billion, serving around 4.6 million passengers annually.

Aleksandar Vucic recently visited the airport to check it if was prepared to launch direct flights to the Unites States and said he was satisfied with the profit and the income of the company, noting it had "no competition in the region."

“We want to compete with European airports now, and we will give our best to catch up with them and to exceed them”, Vucic said.

There are plans to expand the airport's capacity to serve 7.5 million passengers each year. Starting on June 1, after a 24-year break, Air Serbia will start flying to New York five times per week. The next new direct route could be that to Beijing, the newspaper concluded.