A foreign investment company, which wants to stay anonymous for the time being, shows interest in the international airport at Gorna Oryahovitsa, near Veliko Tarnovo. A representative of the firm, the name of which is shrouded in mystery, has already visited the airport on a couple of occasions. The last viewing of the grounds took place a month ago. At this stage the only thing known for sure is the potential investor is an airport operator represented on key airports around the world.
According to off the record information initially the investor’s plan for the airport was such that it would only be used for VIP flights. However after close inspection of the terrain the company is now considering the option to operate passenger and cargo flight services as well. The air base has the potential to turn into the largest cargo airport on the Balkan Peninsula.
The mysterious investor is not the first one willing to manage the airport under concession. It is the provisions in the concession that have prevented potential contractors from operating it until now. In March 2011 the government announced a concession procedure for the airport for a period of 25 years. There were certain provision though – the future contractor must have a fixed capital of not less than 1 million euro and the book value of the company’s assets can’t be less than 5 million euro. Experts consider these clauses unrealistic; according to them the state has to make concessions or else the airport is not likely to function again.
