November 14 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's ministry of transport said that it has extended the deadline for submitting offers in a tender for awarding a 35-year concession contract to run Sofia International Airport, worth an estimated 3.9 billion euro ($4.6 billion), to January 29.
The previous deadline was due to expire on November 22, the ministry said in an announcement published last week.
The tender procedure was launched in July with October 22 set as deadline for submitting offers. In October, the ministry extended the deadline by one month, to November 22.
The concession fee will carry the highest wеight in the procedure for selecting a concessionaire, of 55%. The remaining 45% will depend on the submitted development plan, business plan, financing plan, general strategy, traffic estimates and capital expenditure.
The requirements for the potential candidates include having a net asset value of at least 200 million euro throughout the last three year and operating at least one international airport with an annual traffic of over 10 million passengers.
Last month, Manchester Airports Group (MAG) said that it is partnering with Chinese state-owned Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) in a bid for the concession contract. MAG's strategy focuses on introduction of more routes from Sofia to Belgrade, Zagreb, Sarajevo and Tirana, as well as all other European capitals, the UK airport operator said.
($ = 0.8623 euro)