It would not be good if the airports in Montenegro were taken over by someone who already has other airports in the neighborhood, because he could organize them as he sees fit and not as it suits the interests of Montenegro and its tourism. However, I see that it was precisely those who applied for the tender, or those who have no or very little experience in Europe, air traffic analyst Alen Šćurić told "Vijesta".
"Incheon International Airport Corporation" from South Korea, GMR from India, "Limak Holding" from Turkey and "Corporacion America Airports" from Luxembourg, as well as three consortia - "Cengiz & Copenhagen Airports" from Turkey and Denmark, are applying for the Podgorica and Tivat airports. , "Groupe ADP - TAV" from Turkey and France and "DAA International - Bouygues Batiment International - Marguerite - TIIC" which consists of companies from Ireland, France and Luxembourg. The lease would last for 30 years until 2050.
Šćurić also stated that there are companies that are now members of different consortia but that operate together in other projects, as well as that the takeover of some companies has been announced, which would give almost all airports in the Balkans to one owner.
He says that the tenant of the Belgrade airport, the French "Vinci", is now the official owner of eight percent of the shares in "Aeroports de Paris" - ADP, which holds the Zagreb airport, and that it is possible that he has more shares through close investment funds.
"The French Government announced the sale of its share package in ADP, and 'Vinci' announced its interest in buying it, which would make it the majority owner. ADP now has 38 percent of shares in Turkish TAV and practically controls it. 'Vinci' took over the airport in Belgrade, ADP holds Zagreb, and TAV Skopje and Ohrid. If the ADP-TAV consortium were to get Podgorica and Tivat, it would mean that 'Vinci' would take over almost the entire region," says Šćurić.
"Limak Holding" from Turkey manages the airport in Pristina and, as Šćurica said, it did not become famous because it was overtaken by competitors from Skopje. "Limak" manages a large airport in Istanbul. It is a business group that deals with various activities - from airport management, construction to tourism.
"Incheon International Airport Corporation", as Šćurić said, successfully manages the largest airport in South Korea and is a serious candidate, but it does not have any business outside of Asia.
"Despite applying for several airports in Europe, 'Incheon' did not succeed in any tender. They applied unsuccessfully for the Belgrade airport. It's similar with the big Indian company GMR, because they failed to get involved in other markets despite trying," said Šćurić.
The members of the consortium led by the Irish "DAA International" - "Bouygues" and "Marguerite", which deal in construction, were members of the ADP consortium when they took over the Zagreb airport. "DAA International" manages two airports in Ireland in Dublin and Cork. Her company "Aer Rianta International" has already leased business premises at Montenegrin airports for free-shop stores, which is the subject of a court dispute with the current tenant "Regal Impex".
Corporacion America Airports, formally from Luxembourg, mostly manages airports in South America.
"In Europe, they have two airports in Tuscany, Florence and Pisa, where they have not made any special results, but they are trying to expand in Europe. In the consortium 'Cengiz & Copenhagen Airports' - 'Cengiz' is a construction company that also built and reconstructed airports, and the 'Copenhagen' airport is the largest in Denmark and one of the largest in Scandinavia," Šćurić said.
He stated that it is not unusual for construction companies and other companies that deal with various services to participate in consortia together with the airport management company.
"Builders are present if large investments are needed at airports. After completing that work, they can be paid and leave the consortium. Companies that deal with services, most often in agreement with the operator, take over that part of the services at the airport, such as trade or catering", said Šćurić.
The government commission has 30 days to choose the bidders with whom it goes to the second round of elections, where they can improve their offer. The entire procedure for selecting a new airport manager should be completed by the summer of next year.
The government expects at least 100 million in one-time compensation, which it needs to stabilize the budget. Minimum investments of 80 million euros in the first three years of the lease, and 200 million in all 30 years, are required. In the concession act, the total profit of the Government from this work is estimated at 200 million, while the concessionaire should have a profit of 800 million.
The most interesting partner for Koreans
Šćurić says that it might be most profitable for Montenegro if its airports were taken over by "Incheon International Airport Corporation".
On the Internet, you can find information that this airport near Seoul has been declared the best in the world in terms of services for 12 years in a row, as well as being the cleanest. It is second in the world in terms of goods turnover, and seventh in terms of the number of passengers. With the completion of the new terminal, it is expected that from 2020 it will have one hundred million passengers a year. It has over 35 thousand employees.
"They would be an interesting partner because they have nothing in Europe, even though they have been trying to get in for years. They have no need to trade with the competition and their goal would be to make money, i.e. to increase the number of passengers at these airports. They would like to prove themselves on the new market and would be a good connection to the large Asian market," Šćurić said.
Maybe the European giants won't do "Balkan business"
The largest European companies from this field did not respond to the tender for Montenegrin airports, despite the clear profitability. They were also expected, as he said, by the Minister of Transport Osman Nurković.
"I don't know why they didn't call, maybe they just don't want to get involved in our Balkan affairs. Of those big ones, the best solution for Montenegro would be Frankfurt-based 'Fraport', which has airports in Ljubljana, Athens and Burgas. Close, but still far enough to not be competition. However, they did not respond," Šćurić said.
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