Serious investment interest is expressed in the Kalamata Airport concession for up to 40 years. The deadline for formally expressing interest in the relevant Hellenic Holdings and Property Company (HEP) or Superfund tender is November 30th.

Among the groups reportedly evaluating their participation in the tender, Fraport-Greece’s parent company, Germany’s Fraport AG, is mentioned in principle. Recall that Fraport-Greece is bound by a concession agreement of 14 regional airports and cannot participate in the concession tender of another airport. “However, this does not mean that our shareholders cannot show interest,” said Alexander Tzinel, general director of Fraport-Greece, to “K” two months ago, indirectly, but not quite confirming the relevant information. In addition, GEK TERNA in a joint venture with India’s GMR, the groups that jointly took over the construction and management of the new airport in Kastelli, Crete, are considered interested in principle. The same sources also want TEMES of the Konstantakopoulos group, which manages the Costa Navarino complex in Messinia and has a direct interest in developing the airport, to be on the list of candidates. Other information includes airlines and other foreign airport management groups.

Through the concession, they seek to renew, modernize and expand their infrastructure.

The novelty of this competition is that the Fund reserves the right to participate in the authorized capital of the concessionaire with a minority stake, which will not exceed 15%.

The competition takes place in two stages: in the first stage, with a deadline of 30 November, interested parties meeting certain technical and economic criteria are invited to submit their files. The Superfund will then, after their evaluation, select those who meet the criteria and they will be eligible to participate in the second and final stage, during which they will submit their binding financial and technical proposals. At this stage, the exact duration of the concession and the provisions of the concession agreement will be determined after consultations. Through the Kalamata Airport concession, the goal is to “renovate, modernize and expand the infrastructure of the airport and especially the passenger building, which is an absolute prerequisite due to the rapid development of the airport in question. With this investment, Kalamata Airport will be able to handle an ever-increasing number of passengers, estimated to reach 500,000 much sooner than by the end of the current decade. It has already been calculated that this year the passenger traffic has reached a new historical maximum. Superfund’s airport concession advisors are Deloitte Business Solutions, FCNC Financial Advisors, Doxiadis Office, Development and Housing Consultants SA and your legal partners and DVLaw.

Meanwhile, based on what Hyperfund Managing Director Grigoris D. Dimitriadis said earlier this year to a “K,” the use of the remaining 22 regional airports in his portfolio continues. “We have already launched a tender for a consultant who will help us choose the best way to operate, which will not necessarily be the same for all airports,” he explained in mid-summer. The corresponding process is currently ongoing.