The European Commission on Wednesday, as expected, approved an extension of the concession contract for the Athens International Airport, after confirming that EU bylaws are upheld and that the financial package is competitive vis-a-vis market conditions.
By N. Bellos
The European Commission on Wednesday, as expected, approved an extension of the concession contract for the Athens International Airport, after confirming that EU bylaws are upheld and that the financial package is competitive vis-a-vis market conditions.
As previously reported, the extension means that the concessionaire will retain the management of Greece's biggest and busiest airport until 2046.
The Commission's "green light" came after the first offer to extend the concession, worth 484 million euros, was deemed as unsatisfactory by Brussels and sent back to the Greek government and the country's privatization agency, HRADF. Commission services at the time ascertained that the economic and commercial parameters used to determine the value of the concession were erroneous, undervaluing the latter and thus detrimental to the state's interests.
The Commission had warned that acceptance for the first concession extension offer would have amounted to a state subsidy of the concessionaire.
The second, higher offer, of 1.115 billion euros, was accepted by the Commission.