Leros Airport Included in Planned 22-Airport Concession Tender

In the first weeks after Easter, before the summer, it is planned to publish a call for expressions of interest to participate in an open international tender regarding the concession of the 22 regional airports, which are managed by the Civil Aviation Service and belong to the portfolio of the Superfund.

The competent departments of the Superfund, following a relevant political decision, decided to proceed with an open en bloc concession tender for all 22 infrastructure. In other words, it "freezes", at least for the time being, the incentive plan that was evaluated in the previous months as a qualification for increasing investor participation. That plan provided for the process to invite only the existing concession holders of the largest Greek aviation infrastructure and in return for the investments they will have to implement in the 22 airports to receive an extension of the existing concession contracts they have today.

However, this model requires approval from the European Commission, which is estimated to take more than a year to secure. Time which, from the perspective of the great increase in international arrivals in Greece and the development of tourism, simply does not exist. If, of course, the call for expression of interest in an open international tender that will be held now turns out to be fruitless, "then the country will have one more argument to request approval of the alternative plan and quickly from the European authorities", well-informed sources tell "K".

The required investments for their upgrade are estimated to start at 200 million euros. These are the airports of Alexandroupolis, Ioannina,Kastellorizou, Limnos, Sitia, Araxos, Kastoria, Milos, Skyros,Astypalea, Kalymnos, Kozani, Naxos, Syros, Chios,Karpathos, Kythira, Nea Anchialos, Ikaria, Kasos,Lerosand Paros.

According to market estimates, the estimated future cash flows of these 22 state-owned airports show that even if passenger traffic were to double, their annual revenues would hardly exceed €65-70 million. At the same time, estimates for the budget of the required investments related to their upgrade start from around 200 million euros and increase according to the extent of the interventions that will be decided and designed according to the needs of each airport.

The regional airports of the country are being strengthened with new routes

The need to increase passenger traffic management capacity at the 22 public, regional airports is also documented by the Airports Council International – ACI World forecasts for global passenger traffic in the period 2025-2054, as well as by other, independent third-party forecasts for the growth rate of passenger traffic in Greece.

It is of course even more substantiated by the need to upgrade the services provided to local communities. However, with the exception of the private sector in the country implementing investments, the public infrastructure of airports as well as road networks and utilities remains designed for another era. And to this reality the government seeks to respond by following the proven, successful experience of Athens International Airport and the 14 regional airports.

Read more from Leros News in English.