Eight foreign companies are interested in taking part in Belgrade Airport's privatisation process. According to the "Večernje novosti" daily, Germany's Fraport, France's Vinci and Bouygues, as well as two companies from the United Arab Emirates and three from China have expressed interest in participating in a potential concession. The French consultancy firm Lazard, which is acting as a privatisation advisor, is yet to decide whether the airport should be sold or given up for concession for a set period of time. Sources close to the Serbian government have said a 25 to 30-year concession is more likely, with the option for the deal to be extended to fifty years. Recently, Belgrade Airport's Executive Director, Raša Ristivojević, said, "We have held talks with representatives from Lazard and we defined several points concerning the privatisation. It will most likely be a concession or a public-private partnership. We need fresh capital so Belgrade Airport can expand even further".
According to the daily, the airport's new operator will be required to build a new terminal, runway and supporting infrastructure such as a hotel, cargo centre and car park. Furthermore, local authorities are considering extending the railway network to link the city with the airport. The Serbian government holds an 83.2% stake in Belgrade Airport's operator which counts 1.806 employees. The airport handled a record 4.77 million passengers last year and posted a net profit of 26 million euros. Its current market capitalisation stands at 277.7 million euros. The airport is expected to fetch anywhere between 100 and 500 million dollars, depending on whether a concession or outright privatisation is negotiated.
I assume a lot of companies will be interested. BEG has quite a few things going for it - strong local carrier which will get 10 new aircraft in 2 yrs, transatlantic flights, hub to a low cost airline and with smart management and financial planning they could attract a number of new airlines.
ReplyDeleteI doubt they will give it to a UAE company because of the EU but Arabtec's proposal from 2 years ago for BEG was amazing.
ReplyDeleteUAE choice would be better if the chosen company prioritizes the needs of ASL. Like in all other world hubs, airport and major local carrier should develop hand in hand.
DeletePlease... not a company from the UAE after the scandal with agriculture. Give it to the Chinese, the masters of infrastructure building.
ReplyDeleteBest chance to win concession for development of airport Nikoa Tesla Belgrade, have French consortium and Arab Tec Corporation. From UAE. If EU regulation aloud Emirati's developer corporation, than they will give best offer. And biggest investment to Belgrade airport for this centaury. Any doubt vill be clear soon. And one winner will be guaranty. That is privatised, Airport Nikola Tesla Belgrade. Impatiens to rising new Nikola Tesla airport, Rodney Son & Globthrothers. Kraljevo✈Sydney+✈
DeleteGoodness what kind of syntax is that?
DeleteUvazeni Anon 3:32 PM
DeleteOcigledno da niste razumeli tekst koji sam napisao na engleskom. Osecam potrebu da napisem, prevedem taj tekst na srpski jezik. ''Najvecu sansu da dobije koncesiju za razvoj aerodrome Nikola Tesla Beograd, ima Francuski konzorcijum i Arab Tec. Corporacija. Iz UAE. Ako EU regulaciona agencija dozvoli Emiratskoj razvojnoj corporaciji da udje u kontrakt, onda ona ce dati najbolju ponudu. I najvecu investiciju Beogradskom aerodromu u ovom veku. Svaka sumnja bice odklonjena skoro. I jedan pobednik bice garantovano. To je privatizovani Aerodrom Nikola Tesla Beograd. Nestrpljenje do podizanja novog aerodrome Nikola Tesla''. Postovani Anon. Neznam dali mozete procitati ovaj prevod. Dali sam razumljivo preveo? Neka mi je Bog u pomoci. Ipak sam pokusao. Ukoliko Vi citate Srpski jezik. U svakom slucaju oprostite na mojoj nepismenosti. Uz iskrene pozdrave, svako dobro. Radovan+✈
In english please, if you know....
DeleteDear Anon 9:00 PM
DeleteSorry I don't know English. Oprostite ja neznam engleski. Na zalost i srpski mije ocajan. Uglavnom. All the best from Radovan.
As I can understand the new owner must build brand new airport
ReplyDeleteNot airport, just a new terminal.
Delete....what is new terminal an runway and all the infrastrucure gov requires? Brand new airport ☺
DeleteHaha good one however I am sure that the government will specify that all these need to be built in the next 20 to 50 years. Let's not forget that they love foreign investors which are the ones that end up dictating the terms.
DeleteHopefully not Fraport.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI thin the UAE company got it, Etihad link vital I think. If Authorities decide to lease airport for 50 years, they should demand $500 million, only Chinese and UAE can invest that sort of money, new terminal and new runway.
DeleteI presume new terminal and new runway will be built sometimes in 2020s or 2030s, as there are plans to expand current terminal by 11000sqm and 6000sqm respectively (t1 and t2).
This would increase the size of current terminal from 32000sqm to 49000sqm, and provide adequate capacity for future growth, with 20 jetways airport's capacity will be around 10 million easily.
2nd Runways should then be constructed and eventually terminal 3 in 2030s.
Belgrade airport should work hard in attracting low cost operators, Ryan Air, Wizz EasyJet with more routes out of the city, ideally same number as AirSerbia.
Just look at Krakow, Riga, Vilnius, Gdansk airports as model, where 3-4 low cost airlines operate out of these cities. This create competition and number of low cost alternatives to legacy carriers.
If this can be attained, skies the limit for Belgrade, 10-12 million pax by 2030 quite possible and with it new terminal. If not and everything stays the same not much will change.
Anon. 13.45 Where does this fascination with low-cost companies come from? They are as desirable for airports as are paradajz tourists for seaside towns. Only those airports that cannot attract anything better want them. LCCs barely contribute anything to local economy. Pretending to be all about free market, they much often than legacies demand subsidies, pushing airports in red.
Delete@AnonymousAugust 5, 2016 at 2:18 PM
DeleteI am just saying as an alternative to increase numbers fast.
I don't expect Belgrade airport will expand LCC operations significantly, but if they do it would increase numbers at the airport significantly.
I don't like LCCs but they do create more opportunities for more people to travel. As is many European Legacy carriers have moved away from Belgrade in recent years someone needs to generate traffic...
Air Serbia is getting massive subsidies too, so lets not preach about LCCs bad for business.
The airport should be interested for a long term development, which only legacies can deliver, particularly the legacy with the hub there. Such approach also contributes to the airport and general economy of Serbia much more than bare-bone service (desirably subsidized) preferred by LCCs. Rapid increase in passenger numbers just of the sake of bragging in the comment section? BEG deserves better.
DeleteArapi vec uzeli aerodrom, videcete, sve dogovoreno unapred.
ReplyDeletenisu, već Francuzi (zbog podrške za EU)
DeleteZivi bili pa videli, o ovome sto pricam sam pre dve godine pricao sa covekom koji je i vise nego pouzdan izvor.
DeleteJadna je ta francuska podrška za EU. Ne vidim da su išta pomogli, sve što se izguralo, izgurali su Nemci. A da su Arapi bolji, bolji su, ali samo ako rade u saglasnosti sa Air Serbiom.
DeleteIs there really a need for a whole new terminal? Just move the cargo area and expand the A pier all the way to the road. This should give you another 10 air-bridges. Underneath the new terminal build a new luggage sorting facility while in the place of the old one (departing one) add a few more bus gates.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is enough space beyond the C6 gate and the remote stands. The C pier could be expanded in this area too.
Only when this structure becomes too small expand to build a new terminal.
I´d personally prefer the Chinese and definitely not Fraport!
ReplyDeleteOT: Ural Airlines are going to stop operating to BEG - any idea why? After all BEG-MOW is the busiest international route.
Strong competition and low brand awareness. Moscow is not the busiest international route.
DeleteWhich one is it? TGD or ZRH?
DeleteI think in summer it's TIV.
DeleteIn 2015 it was Zurich.
DeleteAccording to stats for 2015 the list of top five is like that :
Delete1. Zurich
2. Istanbul
3. Moscow
4. Podgorica
5. Frankfurt
I also think a deal has been made with the French already. It's likely to be Vinci or some consortium with Vinci and Buygues.
ReplyDeleteInteresting there is no TAV.
If ADP gets the airport there you have TAV.
DeletePrime Minister Vucic was very optimistic about the cargo business when inaugurating the JFK route. Now we have the the first month after opening and cargo is down in Belgrade 12%
ReplyDeleteThey should clearly shut down JFK immediately, no results after a whole one month.
DeleteHe didn't specifically speak about cargo on JFK but overall at BEG. Think before writing and trying to sound funny last anon.
DeleteOverall at BEG cargo is up 22.5%. Take a chill pill before jealousy and nationalism consumes your every comment.
Delete@anon 12:15
DeleteYou mentioned JFK in your comment yourself, so maybe you should think before you write.
I think it's going to be hard to estimate JFK cargo numbers from the monthly data because of the large and irregular weapon shipments throughout the year.
DeleteAnon 13.46
DeleteI didn't write the JFK comment. ;)
I have written the first cargo comment. So if ASL put a widebody on a 5x weekly rotation it could have been expected that the cargo volume would increase? Sounds logical or not??? That's why the 12% slump shocked me. I think that discussing such things should not provoke trolling or hate speach....
DeleteIf one month 12% decrease is a "shocking slump" for you than you are apparently overreacting and overinterpreting, i.e. dramatizing. I am not sure if that was your intention (it seems so), but I am sure that you can understand that such language encourages similar repies, which ultimately leads to argument, not discussion.
DeleteChinese company would be best.
ReplyDeleteCan we expect the process to be completed next year?
ReplyDeleteconcession? it'll be over by this year's end
DeleteNajbolja opcija za LYBE bi bila Kineska ili UAE kompanija posto bi onda imao najveci razvoj.
ReplyDeleteINN-NS
Absolutely no Private Public Partnership. Current BEG management must be replaced by professional management.
ReplyDeletekakva je razlika ko ce da bude kad ce sve da se zavrsi po deja-vu scenariju ... 10% min u dzepove ovih na vlasti (ili njima bliskih) i ostatak na placanje MMF-u raznih kredita. Rob ostaje robom i nista tu nema da se menja sve dok ne stigne neki novi Lenin!
ReplyDeleteNemoj stati sa Lenjinom, nastavi pravo do Staljina. Tastatura svašta trpi.
Deletehere we go again...2nd runway! When are you gonna get it thru your heads that BEG will NEVER need a 2nd runway?! You just need to run the airport in an efficient way....
ReplyDeletenever say never
DeleteThere is no place for a second runway ...
DeleteThere is no place for people on this site who don't know BEG had space for 2nd runway allocated for more than 50 years.
DeleteAnonymous 6:09, there is no place for people on this site who don't know BEG doesn't need 2nd runway.
DeleteAnd where is this site please ?!
DeleteYou have only to look a satellite image to see there is no space for a runway longer than 2000 meters.
Either they have to tear down the highway or all the new houses that popped up all around.
@Anon 6:44 PM
DeleteThose "houses that popped up" are all illegal and built on grounds that were never allocated to housing. They have already been indexed by authorities and as BEG needs to develop they will be demolished/relocated/expropriated.
http://rs.n1info.com/a118604/Vesti/Surcinci-ostaju-bez-krova-nad-glavom.html
Don't worry, the construction of the second independent runway is officially postponed until 2045.
DeleteAnonymous 6:21
DeleteThere is a difference between "no place for a second runway" and "doesn't need 2nd runway". There is no need for 2nd RWY today, but to say it will NEVER need it indicates special state of mind. Why would comments from those people get accepted? Beats me...
Anon 10:12, I guess you own land close to the airport and are looking at selling it to the airport?
DeleteBEG can easily run +12 million pax on the existing runway infrastructure. That is more then doubling this years numbers. What needs to be done in order to reach those numbers is to invest in technical aides. I can get into a very technical discussion with you or anybody else on this site, as long as you discuss based on facts and not the normal crap about how great BEG is from a nationalistic point of view. Support a technical discussion by facts.
Secondly: in order to BEG to achieve 10-12 million pax, a huge lift in local economy is needed. Do not forget that an eternal growth is just a dream. AS is doing a great job on their hub business model, but sooner or later growth numbers has to be supported by locals traveling, which means money and a lift in internal economy. Having an average income of 320 eur is not helping out.
Thirdly: However great work AS is doing with abnormal growth numbers in the past, there are industry projections which are based on a global projection. The industry is looking at a global growth averaging 5% Y-Y, now do your math like a good pupil.
BEG's and AS most optimistic figures are to reach about 7.5 mpax over the next 5-10 years.
However, this is with a serious upgrade of the LVP capability of BEG, which is a bottleneck.
Now, if you sort out the airside capacity issues - you need to sort out the next bottleneck which is the flow of passengers, starting at the highway and access/exit roads to the airport, parking etc. Then what's happening inside the terminal with bagage sorting etc of course.
For this you need a master plan, i.e a plan that you follow.
Fourthly: The growth and success in the next steps for AS is depending on that BEG does invest and make accurate plans for all the above, otherwise BEG cannot support further growth of ASL.
The best deal Belgrade airport could get is without doubt ArabtecHolding or other company from the UAEs.
ReplyDeleteThe hundreds of millions they would invest would only be the cherry on the cake. most important: Etihad Investment in Air Serbia makes no sense if their hub is totally out of their control.
If the Serbian government makes a wrong decision about this it could ruin the future of the national airline.
^An Arabian operator would also try to draw in as many foreign airlines as possible into their airport.
DeleteAnd that without to damage their main airline!
You only have to see how much competition Emirates and Etihad have on their bases.
and they still thrive !
Serbian politicians are idiots and corrupt.
ReplyDeleteI bet Fraport or the French get it on a silver tablet .
Not because of EU but because a lot of money will land on Swiss accounts.
And luxury shopping holidays for Mrs Vucic and all the other wifes.
Hahaha...so true,so true !
DeletePlease correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't T1 supposed to go back to Air Serbia at some point. I'm wondering how is everything to pan out considering this fact. If it's really owned by ASL, I doubt Arabs are just going to give up on it.
ReplyDeleteGiving the concession to the Arabs would be the perfect solution,but as it is about Serbia there will come a mess out of it as usual.
ReplyDeleteCorrupt government will take the French money and will sell that deal to the stupid people as because of EU-Membership.
What happened to those charters from Iran that were announced with much pomp in spring???
ReplyDelete