October 24, 2019 - Transport Minister Osman Nurkovic said that there was great interest in granting concessions for the right to use the Podgorica and Tivat airports and that the pre-qualification procedure would last 45 days, with the possibility of an extension of another month at the request of the concessionaire. On the other hand, the leading aviation analyst in the region, Alen Šćuric, warns that Montenegro must be very cautious when it comes to concessions over airports so that the Slovenian scenario does not happen.
Nurkovic explained that potential bidders are expected to pay the state at least EUR 100 million in advance, and at least 10 percent of annual revenue from the airports' exploitation. They have to invest a minimum of EUR 80 million in the first three years of at least 200 million investments for the duration of the 30 years' concession period.
In the first part of his analysis of "Did Montenegro Learn from the Slovenian Fiasco?" published yesterday on Belgrade's Tangosix portal, Alen Šćuric pointed out that Montenegrin aviation has all the predispositions to be a success story that will bring great benefit to Montenegro. "Slovenia also had predispositions, everything seemed fairy-tale, and today, due to catastrophic moves by the authorities, it was brought to a total aviation collapse. Will Montenegro learn from the Slovenian example?"
The Slovenian government has given both of its airports a concession. The deal with German Fraport in Ljubljana does not go as planned and announced, while the leasing of the Maribor airport to the Chinese consortium turned into a real traffic and financial disaster when the concessionaire withdrew from the contract, realizing almost none of its obligations.
"The results of the Airport of Montenegro are truly fascinating. Therefore, Montenegro is not desperate; it does not have to give its airports a concession at any cost. Finally, the current profit and growth trend of the same shows that in the next 30 years, Montenegro will have a financial benefit of 500-700 million euros from the airport. However, if Montenegro chooses to give its two airports a concession, then it is necessary to look for a greater benefit than this," Šćuric said.
Source: Dan and Boka News
