OREANDA-NEWS. September 06, 2013. During the meeting of the cabinet, the Deputy Prime Minister , the Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar said that consortium Avia Invest (Association of legal entities) has won a closed competition for the selection of the concessionaire for Chisinau airport. Invitation to participate was sent to 7 companies from Spain, France, Russia, Austria, England and USA.

However, only two of the invited participants submitted their proposals to competition: Vnukovo-Invest jointly with SC “Vnukovo International Airport ", as well as UK Komaks in association with SC " Khabarovsk Airport ", JSC " Kolomna plant " and Avia Invest SRL. Proposal of Vnukovo-Invest did not meet the necessary requirements, in contrast to the proposals of the second participant, who was declared the winner.

According to the concession contract, the amount of rent will make 1 % of sales revenues and the investment will amount to 244.2 million euro. It is also provided to create the concession company within 60 days after signing of the contract. Equity of the concession company should not be less than 5 million euro.

This company will have 5-year vacation in the rent payment but it shall pay taxes, fees and all required payments to the state and local budgets during all concession period. Works on reconstruction of the airport must begin not later than one year after the signing of the concession contract. Valeriu Lazar noted that the company, which will take Chisinau airport in concession successfully manages the Khabarovsk airport, which is called the “Eastern Gate of Russia", and has an interesting experience in development of hub airport. Valeriu Lazar also said that a political decision on the transfer of Chisinau airport in concession was made in May 2012 because, despite the good results, without solid investment it was hard for the airport to compete with the regional airports in Bucharest, Odessa and other cities.

The head of the Ministry of Economy added that within one year the state should ensure adequate investment in the development of Chisinau airport to replace the obsolete lighting systems, improve security etc., in order not to lose the license. Valeriu Lazar also noted that passenger traffic of Chisinau Airport is growing by 10-15 % and the airport infrastructure no longer meets the necessary requirements.