The Ministry of Transport wants to lease out Bratislava Airport to a strategic investor for a period of 20-30 years, while the state would remain the sole owner.
The proposal is part of the long-term development concept for airports in Slovakia currently being fine-tuned by the ministry with the government’s blessing. The ministry feels that the option of a long-term lease is better than any one-off revenues it would get from selling such a strategic asset under the current economic climate.
The ministry will now make seek a suitable advisor for the process before making a call for tenders to find the strategic concessionaire for the airport.
In its concept, the ministry projects with around EUR 350 million in investment into Bratislava Airport over the space of a decade, mainly for reconstruction and extension of runways. The government expects the deal to be finalised before the end of 2012.