Fraport consortium signs 40-year concession to manage 14 Greek airports

As part of the austerity measures forced upon Greece by the Euro Zone finance ministers with relation to the financial bailout, and as described under the initial terms of sale outlined on August 19th this year, a consortium comprising the German airport operator Fraport and the Greek conglomerate Copelouzos Group have now signed a deal with the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund to operate, manage, develop and maintain 14 of Greece’s principal airports under a 40-year concession. The deal is expected to be finalized by the fall 2016, when the consortium will pay a €1.23 billion ($1.36 billion) upfront concession payment.
The airports included in the deal comprise Aktio, Kavala and Thessaloniki on mainland Greece and Corfu/Kerkyra, Crete/Chania, Kefalonia, Kos, Mitilini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos and Zakynthos located throughout the islands. Last year the 14 airports dealt with 22 million passengers (of which 77% were international passengers), a number which is anticipated to increase to 23 million during 2015.
It is understood that Fraport will be majority shareholder in the consortium, while actual ownership of all 14 airports will be retained by the Greek government. However, on top of the initial concession fee, the consortium will pay an annual fixed fee, initially of €22.9 million (US$253.2 million), while also being required to invest €330 million (US$365 million) in airport infrastructure up to 2020. Subsequent to this, additional payments will be required for maintenance and investment in order to increase capacity throughout the period of the contract.