Airports contract to be signed by year-end
State sell-off fund TAIPED expects the German-Greek Fraport-Sientel consortium to sign the contract for the concession of 14 regional airports by the end of the year. The transaction and the delivery of the terminals to the preferred bidder will take place next year, after the fulfillment of the conditions included in the deal.
TAIPED chairman Stergios Pitsiorlas told Kathimerini that, in the context of the tender for the concession of the terminals, the fund has asked for the renewal of the letters of guarantee that expire at the end of this month.
He added that although the preferred bidder has been announced, the fact that the contract has not yet been signed forces all participants in the tender to renew their letters of guarantee. There have already been positive responses from the consortiums of Corporation America-METKA and of Vinci-Aktor, with the response by Fraport-Sientel still pending.
Pitsiorlas estimates that the airports will likely be delivered after next summer, as it is crucial for both the chosen bidder and the administrations of the airports to have the management changes take place outside the peak tourism season.
