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Bulgaria gets five bids in Sofia airport tender

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The Balkan country is looking to raise 550 million euros  ($619 million) from the concession, 280 million of which should come in an upfront payment. The transport ministry will open the bids on May 9 and is expected to pick a winner shortly after.

Britain's largest airport operator, Manchester Airports Group, in a tie-up with China's construction firm BCEG placed a bid. Germany's Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt airport, as well as a consortium between asset manager Meridiam and the operator of Munich Airport, Flughafen Muenchen, also filed offers, the ministry said.

The other two contenders include a consortium led by France's Aeroports de Paris and a tie-up between Copenhagen Airports and SSB Sauernwein & Schaefer.

The successful candidate would have to invest about 600 million euros and build a new passenger terminal at the airport that transported over 7 million people and handled over 22,000 tonnes of cargo last year.

Copyright Reuters, 2019