Fraport Greece has signed a concession agreement to take control of 14 regional airports in Greece, as part of the country’s privatisation programme.
The company paid €1.234bn into Greek’s state-owned Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) in order to take over the management and development of the airports for the next 40 years.
The 14 airports that are being privatised include Aktion, Kavala, Thessaloniki, Kerkyra / Corfu, Chania / Crete, Kefalonia , Kos, Mytilene / Lesvos, Mykonos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos and Zakynthos.
Fraport Greece CEO Alexander Zinell said:“Today marks the beginning of a new era for the 14 Greek regional airports. Within only twelve months we have created Fraport Greece, a world-class airport operator with over 500 highly motivated staff eager to move each of the 14 airports forward into the future. We will develop and manage the airports for the benefit of passengers and airlines – for all stakeholders.
“These mainland and island gateways will act as a catalyst of growth for Greek tourism as well as other industries. Well-managed airports have been proven to serve as dynamic economic engines for their regions.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Fraport Greece will invest more than €400m to improve and expand the airports’ infrastructure over the next four years.
Additionally, Fraport Greece signed an agreement with the Greek-based Intrakat construction and engineering company, which will take responsibility to renovate, expand and build new facilities at the 14 airports, including five new passenger terminals.
Fraport Greece will also invest in maintenance and demand-driven capacity expansions in future.
A consortium of financial institutions is providing close to €1bn in long-term financing for the Greek Regional Airports project.
Of the total loan amount, nearly €280.4m will be used to finance construction projects at the 14 airports, while €688m will be used as part of the upfront concession payment to HRADF. (Source: Airport Technology)
