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Local Joint Venture Wins Tender for Kukes Airport

An Albanian joint venture, the sole participant in a tender for a concession to run Kukes airport, has been declared the successful bidder with its offer to invest around Euro 8 million (Dollar 9 million), the country's Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy said on Friday. The joint venture comprising Albanian-registered companies Global Technical Mechanics and Bami will be responsible for the reconstruction, operation and maintenance of Kukes airport, in northeastern Albania, the ministry said in a press release. The joint venture will be supported In this project by Dutch-based company NACO Airport Consultancy and Engineering which has experience in airport management and administration, the ministry added. The proposed term of the concession contract or public-private partnership agreement will be 35 years. The airport in Kukes will become operational by the autumn of 2019, Prime Minister Edi Rama said in November. The project for the reconstruction of airport envisages the extension of the runway and an upgrade of the terminal building, Rama said, adding that the airport will mainly service flights of low-cost carriers. The cooperation agreement between the two companies determined that 30% of the works will be carried by Global Technical Mechanics and 70% by Bami. One of the qualifying criteria of this procedure was the participation of an experienced company/expert in the field of airport operation and management, equipped with relevant licenses issued by international aviation authorities, through an agreement with the economic operator. In the documents submitted by the joint venture, it was included also an agreement with the Dutch company NACO with experience in the field of airport management and administration. According to the project, the runway will be expanded to a length of 2,200 meters. The airport area will be also expanded by 66,000 m2 in order to include also the security zones. The passenger terminal will be expanded to 3,800 m2 from currently 600 m2. The expansion of the parking area is also foreseen in the project. Currently, Tirana International Airport "Mother Teresa" is Albania's only operational airport. The Albanian government has already started negotiations with a Turkish consortium for the construction of an airport near the southwestern port city of Vlora, an investment estimated at Euro 100 million, following the approval of the project by the Albanian parliament in February last year.

Source: Top Channel