Photo credit: Darko Ćirkov
France's VINCI has outlined its initial infrastructure plans for Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport as it continues to secure its financing for the 25-year takeover worth just over a billion euros. The concession and construction company recently applied for a 100 million euro loan with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through its subsidiary Vinci Airports Serbia. Other financiers will include the International Finance Corporation, France's PROPARCO and the German Investment Corporation. In its loan application to the European lender, VINCI notes it is expected to deliver the efficient upgrading of the airport within the first four years of the concession, which will include terminal refurbishment and expansion, the overhaul of the existing runway, construction of a temporary runway and the expansion of the taxiway system.
France's VINCI has outlined its initial infrastructure plans for Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport as it continues to secure its financing for the 25-year takeover worth just over a billion euros. The concession and construction company recently applied for a 100 million euro loan with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through its subsidiary Vinci Airports Serbia. Other financiers will include the International Finance Corporation, France's PROPARCO and the German Investment Corporation. In its loan application to the European lender, VINCI notes it is expected to deliver the efficient upgrading of the airport within the first four years of the concession, which will include terminal refurbishment and expansion, the overhaul of the existing runway, construction of a temporary runway and the expansion of the taxiway system.
VINCI says it plans to utilise 980 million euros within the first four years of its concession contract. Of those, some 450 million euros will be paid to the Serbian government, while the remained will be used for infrastructure development. VINCI noted that one of the major historical issues associated with the project is noise, due to the airport's proximity to residential areas. As one of the priority measures, it will be required to start immediate implementation of the Balanced Approach to aircraft noise management consistent with EU/ICAO requirements aimed at the reduction of noise impacts. Furthermore, it noted that the expansion project will be associated with limited land acquisition that will commence in five years .
VINCI is on target to take over operations at Belgrade Airport by the end of the year as it nears the financial close of the deal. VINCI Airports Chairman, Nicolas Notebaert, previously said, "We will also develop a very strong airline marketing development policy for Belgrade Airport. We will work very hard with other airlines to create routes which develops connectivity for the country and the city and brings many new visitors". The company noted that the development of traffic is vital to its value creation objectives, which takes a proactive approach in partnership with airlines. "Thanks to its dynamic aviation marketing teams, its methodology based on data and its fast-growing network, VINCI Airports can work closely with airlines and local tourism stakeholders to open up new routes, increase the number of travellers and ensure sustainable development of the airport", it said.
What is a temporary runway?
ReplyDeleteThey will build a runway which will be used while the other is inoperative because it requires a lot of work to the point that they would have to close the airport. This way, traffic will be unaffected.
DeleteI'm glad that they plan to do this in the first four years.
But where will they build it.
DeleteI remember years ago Belgrade management said how they have to reconstruct the runway and that Btajnica would be used as an alternative. It's good that there won' be a need to redirect traffic.
Delete@ 9.08
DeleteBetween current runway and taxiway
https://i.imgur.com/Dy9RWAz.jpg
They should build a second runway and this should have been in the plans.
DeleteNa slici ima mesta,realno ko zna kako izgleda uzivo zna da tu nema mesta ni za iglu.
Delete^ Yep they don't know if there is space there or not. But you do. Sve ekspert do eksperta.
DeleteWhy would you build a second runway on the other side of the airport when you can be more productive with that land.
DeletePlus the temporary runwany than becomes the planed expanded taxiways.... win win for Vinci
+1
DeleteYep. At other airports where they built temporary runways they just become taxiways later on. It's good that they won't shut the airport during runway overhaul. Since I think the runway will be their top priority, they will probably start work on the inserted runway straight away.
DeleteGood to see they will start work on expansion straight away.
ReplyDeleteAnd now all those conspiracies hatched about Vinci not taking over BEG go down the drain... :(
ReplyDeleteLet's wait and see what happens
DeleteWell as the Serbian saying goes "Nada umire poslednja". Fully applicable in your sad case.
DeleteSad case :)))
Delete"We will work very hard with other airlines to create routes which develops connectivity for the country and the city and brings many new visitors."
ReplyDeleteGood to hear. Looking forward to the new arrivals.
That is bad news for JU
DeleteWe need LCC boom in Belgrade.
DeleteHow is it bad news for JU if other airlines open destinations where JU doesn't even fly?
DeleteAny new competition is bad news for JU. As for any other company.
DeleteI wonder if FR for example opens BEG-MAD how on Earth can it be bad news for JU?
DeleteVinci like any other concessionaire won't hurt its busiest and largest airline (ie their biggest source of revenue and passengers). There is simply no point. Same way Zagreb protects OU, Fraport protects JP and TAV protects W6.
DeleteI would argue that competiton is good for JU as well.it will force them to adaptadapt, develop, grow etc. If they don't do that we know what's going to happened. No matter how protected company is, market forces always take care of it sooner or later
DeleteJU might not be the biggest player in years to come. It could become Ryan, Easy or Wizz.
DeleteSo they won't build a new terminal? Or they just won' build it in the first 4 years?
ReplyDeleteBEG doesn’t need a new terminal in the next 4 years. Just work in expansion and efficiency of the existing one.
DeleteGreat question.
DeleteThey won't build it in the first 4 years.
DeleteShame.
DeleteBtw where will all 15 mil passengers promised by current director in next 5 year fit?
Current capacity is 10 million. They can expand capacity by another 5 million.
DeleteThe proposed expansion (by current management) looked like this. In some countries it is the size of a completely new terminal.
https://www.gradnja.rs/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/nikola-tesla-prosirenje-2.jpg
Other proposal by previous airport management is also to build an additional floor above current one.
Additional floor is in original plan
DeleteThey need to divide arriving/departing passengers really fast. Current outline is disgrace
Yes this that project
Deletehttps://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hq2yXgfrWUA/Tu5eTFl6tpI/AAAAAAAADOU/aKlvCi49ejg/s1600/apt-projekat-prosirenja-buduci-izgled-1.jpg
This would mean arriving passengers first to go one level up and then three levels down to get their luggage. Unless they move arrivals to ground level and lift departures (including check in) on level 1.
DeleteGreat news for Vinci and BEG.
ReplyDeleteThis is like good news and bad news. Good news is they will renew the runway, bad news is they still don't have the money for the whole endeavor. :)
ReplyDeleteHow do you know that they don't have money? It states who they secured money from and this is possibly the last of it they need. But keep smiling.
DeleteThey called him and told him probably. One of the world's largest airport operators doesn't have money for Belgrade Airport. That's his logic lol. Good thing they had money for the other 20+ airports they operate but they didn't manage to find it for BEG. It must have been the great negotiating powers of Serbian politicians who hypothesized Vinci executives to purchase the concession even though they don't have money.
DeleteSome people cannot comprehend that big companies rarely finance projects out of their cash flow (profit), but from loans.
DeletePa nemaju repa. Piše na početku teksta da su aplicirali za kredit kod EBRD-a preko svoje novoosnovane firme u Srbiji. Hajde da se kladimo da garant tog kredita nije matična kompanija VINCI već država Srbija, baš kao što je bio slučaj u pitanju FIAT-a ili BG@H20.
DeleteI onda logično pitanje zar nije država mogla da se direktno zaduži i unapredi aerodrom bez posrednika i koncesije, nego idemo skupljim načinom?
They might not have money for this investment. Even if you stop subsidising JU and immediately boost profit to 40 mil annually, there is no way you could make 950 mil + consession fee in 8-10 years
DeleteAh of course. This is the one where they will get it all wrong after running 20 other airports. They should have hired you as their financial advisor.
DeleteConsidering financing, this is likely the last loan they are requesting as part of the financing vehicle since it is just 100 million EUR. It usually takes around a month to approve such loans, so I presume it will happen around mid October. So Vinci takeover is expected in December.
DeleteThe city has already transferred all parking to the airport because of Vinci. That includes the multi story car park. They will get quite a bit of money from this.
Deletea) Serbian government was told by MMF that they must put it on concession and that is what our treaters did. b) They most probably got a cut of the pie into their pockets. Considering a +b that is the reason why the airport can't be developed by a direct loan to the bank(s) but has to be put on concession.
DeleteBig acqusitions are usually financed 60 or 70 percwnt by issuing debt and 30, 40% by equity or your own money, stocks etc. So, don't think they don't have money it's just that long term financially makes sense to borrow.
DeleteAssuming Vinci takes over on 1 Jan 2019 + 4 years to deliver mentioned = Jan 2023. At that time temporary rwy and expanded terminal will probably have enough capacity for the next 10-12 years, until 2030-2035. Well that's when the problem starts hitting the fan: land for the proper second runway will have been taken over for "more productive" uses so 2nd runway would be impossible to build; and Vinci won't be willing to build completely new terminal with only 9 years left on a contract (until 2044). Temporary runway and terminal extensions are a cheap short to mid term fix but will be the end of the road for airport in 20-25 years. Building proper second runway on the other side of the airport and completely new terminal right away is the only way to ensure long term future for the airport.
DeleteIf only that was put in the contracted and investor obliged to do it. Maybe it is but Government is still hiding it.
DeleteNema novog terminala,nema hotela blizu aerodroma,"samo" nadogradnje i prosirenja. Stvarno ne vidim gde ce spucati 500 mil. evra?
ReplyDeleteHotel nece graditi Vinci nego ce iznajmiti parcelu buducem operateru hotela koji ce ga graditi. Tih 500 miliona se odnosi na prvih 4 godina koncesije. Zasto bi gradili novi terminal u prvih 4 godine kada ni trenutni kapacitet nije iskorscen, a prosirenjem ce dodatno povecati kapacitet?
DeleteSve je meni jasno samo ne znam sta ce to kostati 500 mil. u prvih 4 godina?
DeletePa ne bih rekao da ti je jasno uzimajuci u vidu prvu recenicu koju si napisao. Kostace ono sto su napisali. Rekonstrukcija piste, umetnuta pista i dogradnja terminala koja ce ocigledno biti znacajna. U nastavsku C fingera ima prostora da se prakticno izgradi ceo novi terminal, a upravo je tu i planrana nadogradnja T2.
DeleteNova pista,nova umetnuta pista i nov terminal ne znam dal bi kostali 500 mil. Al dobro nadam se da znaju sta rade i da nece smanjiti investiciju kao u Zagrebu. Da ce NT izgledati mnogo bolje u to ne sumnjam.
DeletePa moras nekako da prsdstavis investiciju :)
DeletePredstavice je kada preuzmu aerodrom.
DeleteМене не би чудило да преместе робни терминал и да прошире А део за још 5 излаза. Ако испод њих буду били аутобуски излази то би онда било феноменално јер би тако значајно прошили капацитете.
Delete@realan19 September 2018 at 09:17
DeleteHM, I think 2nd runway. and I hope they ignore temporary runway idea, as with 2nd runway they'd solve long term issue for a growing airport.
2nd Runway won't be cheap, normally runways cost between €120 and 300 million depending if there's land issue to be resolved, some runways can cost billions, due to the location or land issues.
I think Belgrade hasn't got many property and land issues, so 2nd runway would come @around €60-80 million + taxiway = €120 million, add additional apron and supporting infrastructure, that's €200 million gone. No idea what they plan to do with current terminal and how they'll expand it, but for every additional square meter, you multiply by €1750.
Expanding apron to the east where Cargo terminal is, would also cost around €60-90 million, for 60-100 000sqm of additional space.
when you add all this, you are looking at easy €500-600 million. Adding new Control tower,say 65-90m tall would also cost additional €12-20 million.
Control Tower will be paid by SMATSA
DeleteWhat about cargo?
ReplyDeleteWhen the airport was built there were barely any houses around the flight path. All those people bought houses close to the airport so they knew what they got themselves into. If they are bothered by the noise then they might as well move away to a quieter location. Serbian economy and the airport shouldn't be victims.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the French are the first to ever mention noise issues. Why start with it when no one seemed to care, looks like they are creating problems where there were none.
It states that there are ICAO standards when it comes to housing in close proximity to the airport. They are just following procedures.
DeleteAnyhow were those houses illegally built there?
I think it depends on the location. The area just before Ada is probably legal, everything after that... I wouldn't be too sure, especially in Ledine. That whole area looks pretty shady.
DeleteArticle is from 2015 but I don't anything has changed ever since
Deletehttp://www.novosti.rs/vesti/beograd.74.html:555488-Nema-legalizacije-kuca-uz-aerodrom
DeleteWell they might be illegal but I doubt they are going to knock down their homes but it impacts future development of the airport. Another gift from the 90s. The decade that keeps on giving.
DeleteWho knows...Para vrti gde burgija nece a Vinci ima para.
DeleteI'm waiting for how all the drama will subside once they present their plans :) just a little more left.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteInterestingly easy Jet opened another base at a Vinci airport just a few weeks ago. In Nantes. I think it is their fourth base at a Vinci airport. I'm presuming Belgrade will come in 2020.
ReplyDeleteeasy is quite close to Vinci.
DeleteShame that they didn't include the rail link to the city in the concession agreement.
ReplyDeleteThe government plans to do it.
Delete"Ms Mihajlović has confirmed that the construction of a rail link between the airport and city has high priority but has not been included in the contract with VINCI, meaning the project, valued at twenty million euros, will be carried out through a public private partnership."
An airport concessionaire can't build a rail link to anywhere outside of the airport premises. It hasn't been done anywhere.
DeleteExactly! Vinci only has control of the airport premises (excluding land that belongs to SMATSA). They can't do anything outside of it.
DeleteDa li neko ko zastupa ideju umetnute piste moze da pokaze slican primer u svetu? Da je pista umetnuta izmedju postojece piste i rulne staze..?? Znaci investiras u novu pistu koja zapravo to i nije nego ce ti biti rulna staza. Nema sanse da ce iko normalan pristati na to.
ReplyDeleteThere was one in ORD in USA and remember somwhere in Canada like YHM.. those are two that I know but there is definitely more .
DeleteCan't wait for them to take over.
ReplyDeleteSounds good.
ReplyDeleteI still don't get if they are obligated to build a new terminal or not?
ReplyDeletePa, u prve četiri godine sigurno nisu obavezni, pošto ni postojeći kapaciteti nisu iskorišćeni.. Videćemo kasnije šta planiraju.
DeleteI hope they attract more European legacy airlines that used to fly to BEG like Air France, British Airways, SAS.
ReplyDeleteI hope they attract airlines that never previously flew to BEG :)
DeleteThere is a lot of potential for growth. Good luck Vinci.
DeleteIt's likely that TAP will come back.
Delete@Anon 10:47
DeletePlease let me know what you get with the arrival of AF, BA or SK?
1. JU provides good connectivity via CDG through code share with AF as well as P2P. W6 flies to BVA for P2P passengers.
2. W6 and JU offer good P2P to LHR / LTN. In this case connectivity is not so important taking in consideration all the other connectivity possibilities through FRA, MUC, VIE, WAW, ZRH, AMS, CDG, FCO etc
3. SK is always very expensive and there is no need for them to fly to BEG knowing that we have JU that flies to CPH and ARN, W6 that flies to NYO, GOT and MMX and DY that flies to OSL and ARN. Very good covering of Scandinavian countries, no space for SAS.
We will get a lot of prestige with the presense of such legacy airlines like BA, AF, SK.
DeleteAnd what can you do it with that prestige?
DeleteSomeone will decide not to fly to BEG because SK does not fly there although JU, DY or W6 with much better prices fly to Serbian capital?
I don't think so.
After all we have in BEG good companies like LH, OS, HU, LO, SU, LX, TK, QR, A3 etc.
It's a free market. The only thing stoping BA, AF and SK is the risk of low yield, not whether you want them in BEG or not. Also, your reasons for them not to fly are just ridiculous. Maybe AF wants to take BEG-CDG market all for themselves, maybe BA wants to get a share of connecting pax from BEG, maybe SK wants a piece of Scandinavia-BEG market. Why should they not step in? Why would there be no space for them? Let the market decide, not the comment section on a blog...
DeleteObjectively speaking, them starting flight means lower prices and more choices for the passengers. If you are worried about JU, it managed to win these markets in a much worst shape before, it shouldn't be a problem doing it again if they decide to start.
It seems you really got something wrong.
DeleteI am not the one who decides there is no space for them, they decided it by themselves and I am just telling you that BEG is losing nothing because they do not fly to ANT.
In your post there are too many "maybe" - the only cerain thing is they do not fly to BEG and nobody should be sad because of it.
Yes, neither of them fly to Belgrade, but my post is refering to your original post in which it seems like you were giving reasons why they shouldn't fly to BEG. Those maybes are there to point out that the mentioned airlines aren't necessarily persuaded by the current state of those routes and it's not impossible to see them back i BEG again. Since they stopped flying BEG a lot of things have changed and the market has developed and is still developing nicely, so I wouldn't count out their return in the next couple of years.
DeleteOn the topic of should someone be sad or not cause they're not flying to BEG, I already wrote about the benefits of it - as a passenger I wouldn't mind a little competition resulting in lower fares, and I'm certain there are others like me.
I am giving the reasons why they do not have to fly to BEG now. Not talking in potential should/would tense.
DeleteAdditional reasons
-AF ==> it pays off more to have more than attractive code share with JU that brings them connecting passengers than to fly their own metal to BEG
-BA ==> there is almost no comparative advantage of their presence in BEG. Additionally it looks like politics is involved in this case taking in consideration BA flies to SOF, TIA and ZAG but not to BEG. Low level of service. BA888 will not return to BEG anytime soon.
Even if they (BA, AF, SK) would start flying to BEG do not think they would be, due to competition, cheaper than W6 to BVA, LTN, ARN or OSL.
Therefore I gave you the reasons it is not realistic to expect them in BEG, no matter of the wishes we might have or not
One thing I don't get is why is there currently so much construction work at BEG. They are doing a lot of upgrades. I think at least 4 new shops are opening in the terminal, they built new taxi stand, they are resurfacing the area in from of T2. Why do all of this if a new investor is about to take over.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to seem mean but why do you think a publicly owned company is giving jobs to other publicly owned companies to undertake upgrades before the airport is handed over to private hands ;) The good news is that passengers will benefit.
DeleteScandalous! They shout have halted all the investments and pay.the profit to shareholders. Airport was fine as is and that should have been left to VINCI to perform.
DeleteNestrpljivo se ocekuje prezentacija plana koji ce VINCI Airports obnarodovati u prvoj polovini decembra. U to vreme bi trebao da bude u Srbiji i Francuski predsednik Makron. Desetak nedelja nije tako daleko. Iskreno verujem da povrsina putnickh terminala biti oko 80.000 m2. Funkcionalnost i, izgled aerodroma Nikole Tesle sigurno ce uklopiti u dvadeset prvi vek. Aerodrom na koji slecem vec 49 godina ce sigurno radovati mnoge ljude koji koji zive od aerodroma i aviona.
ReplyDeleteIz prolecnog Sidneja iskreno, Rodney Marinkovic.
Kings Park NSW Australia
I think we will get this C concourse expansion.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/j_gqh3Tl95o
It looks like a whole separate terminal but this could be a temporary fix before a new terminal is built.
DeleteI don't see the need for a new terminal any time soon if they expand the existing ones. There are many airports handling significantly more traffic with just one terminal. Amsterdam comes to mind.
DeleteLOL. It's just that Amsterdam's terminal is many times larger than Belgrade's. Plus, they are now starting to build a second one.
DeleteI know it's much largest. Like I said "There are many airports handling significantly more traffic with just one terminal." Another example is Istanbul Sabiha.
DeleteIn reality Belgrade has just one terminal.
DeleteConnecting T1 with the aviation museum somehow would be a good idea :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Transit passengers could have a such a great fun at the museum, which is one of the best in this part of the world, for sure.
DeleteIt would be possible only for transit passengers that do not need visa for Serbia
DeleteCould you connect it somehow without passengers leaving the airport. And on that note, that museum needs a much better management.
DeleteOf course you could. In Frankfurt two terminals are connected by the train where in one of the wagons only transit passengers who did not go through passport control can embark.
DeleteBut Belgrade is not Frankfurt and this kind of investment would not pay off taking in consideration Serbia has quite open visa policy where you do not have a lot of transfer passengers who actually do need visa to enter Serbia (only Lebanese & Egyptian nationalities from whole BEG network).
Airport operator wants people to spend in shops and restaurants and not to visit the museum. However, it would be nice to have it featured as a part of offer at the airport.
DeleteDo you think Vinci will apply for SOF, next month? Any thoughts or personal opinions?
ReplyDeleteAdmin,
ReplyDeleteCan you maybe somewhere dig out the photo/postcard of the Belgrade airport from the time where there was a fountain in front of the Terminal 1 entrance?
I think it was 1981 and the photo was in the form of postcard.
Thank you.
Photo 1
DeletePhoto 2
Thank you very much!
Deletehttps://static.kupindoslike.com/Aerodrom-Beograd-1975_slika_O_313336.jpg
DeleteTreba da vrate tu fontanu u centar terminala i ukrase je egzotičnim biljem, a ceo taj terminal 1 da napune kafićima, prostorom za odmor itd. Pored terminala 1 da naprave novi terminal gde su izlazi a6-a10 skroz do starog kontrolnog tornja. Tako bi stari terminal 1 pun zelenila i kafića služio samo kao veza terminala 2 i novog terminala na mestu izlaza a6-a10.
DeleteDobra ideja :)
DeleteSta je bilo sa vidikovcem na aerodromu?
ReplyDeleteBTW apart from building a new C concourse they can also build an extension to A concourse, like originally planned
ReplyDeletehttps://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wDoEUK7Ilgs/WT3B7lZyj7I/AAAAAAAAeRg/KQA0v36uixAu03QdD83SKMGNtDaYOy9GQCLcB/s1600/2.jpg
When will they shut down Nis airport? I am guessing as soon as current contracts in Nis expire?
ReplyDeleteHappy for Belgrade, but shame for rest of Serbia.
Naravno da ga neće zatvarati, a i ako je ograničen na milion putnika još će dosta godina proći pre nego se dostigne i taj milion.
DeleteНиш will not closed. It should have been included in the package with BEG.
DeleteAnyway, I hope Vinci study the possibility of domestic BEG-INI flights.
VINCI is an airport management company, not an airline. Therefore, they have nothing to study. Air Serbia is well aware of the route's capabilities and has decided not to launch it for now.
Delete"VINCI says it plans to utilise 980 million euros within the first four years of its concession contract. Of those, some 450 million euros will be paid to the Serbian government, while the remained will be used for infrastructure development."
ReplyDeleteThis means that Vinci will refurbish and upgrade the existing terminal in the next 4 years for a total of 980-450= 530 mln euros mostly from loans. Since Vinci Airports Serbia is a new company, who will guarantee for the loans in the case that the concession agreement is canceled in the meantime? Vinci SA France or the Serbian Government? Moreover, the construction will last four years, and the whole planned budget for 25 years will be used for that period. Does it mean that there will be no more additional significant investments in a new terminal?
You can always hope buddy.
DeleteLet's wait and see but overall it does not look good.
DeleteThe old terminal is outdated and refurbishing it will not help too much (they already tried once). It's about time for a new modern terminal to be able to compete with other regional European hubs.
DeleteNa parkingu, donji nivo, dolasci, trebalo bi oznaciti stazu koja bi vodila od kucice za naplatu kroz sredinu parkinga, jer se putnici sa prtljagom provlace izmedju gusto parkiranih vozila, koje nehotice ostete i zagrebu...
ReplyDelete