Vinci Airports has won the concession to operate Belgrade Airport. Source: Nikola Tesla Belgrade Airport.

VINCI Airports has struck a contract to run Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport as the French operator aims to cement its foothold in Southeast Europe.

The 25-year concession, which expects to be signed in the first quarter of 2018, covers the financing, operation, maintenance, extension and upgrade of the existing airport terminal and its runways.

VINCI Airports is set to take over the airport, which handled 5.3m passengers in 2017, by the end of the year.

Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of Vinci Concessions and Chairman of VINCI Airports said in a statement: “This success marks a new stage in VINCI Airports’ expansion outside France. Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport will serve as the company’s ‘hub’ in Southeast Europe, a geographical area in which VINCI Airports has not operated until now.”

UNDISCLOSED FINANCIAL TERMS

Details of the financial terms and anticipated concession revenues for the contract where not disclosed by VINCI Airports.

However Reuters and other local and national media reported Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stating that VINCI offered €501m ($601m) up front, in addition to €732m ($878m) in investment.

Nikola Tesla Airport is the main airport serving the Republic of Serbia and flag carrier Air Serbia, which takes a share of more than 50% of the airport’s passenger traffic.

In a statement, VINCI adds that it will seek to ‘capitalise on the substantial airport management and development expertise it has acquired in France, Portugal, Japan and other countries to improve the overall airport customer experience, notably by reorganising and optimising passenger flows and expanding retail areas’.

VINCI already manages and develops operations at 35 airports situated in France, Portugal (including Lisbon), Cambodia, Japan, Dominican Republic, Chile and Brazil.

Its total airport network served 132m passengers in 2016, with annual revenue related to managed activities totalling €2.7bn ($3.2bn), with consolidated revenue of €1.05bn ($1.26bn).