Greece completes sale of 14 airports

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. ATHENS: Greece said it has finalized the sale of 14 regional airports to Germany’s Fraport agreed in 2015 within the framework of a huge international bailout to prevent the country from crashing out of the euro zone.

In what had been the first major privatization drive for the government under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, a deal was reached at the end of 2015 to sell 14 regional airports — including Thessaloniki, and those of island tourist hotspots Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu — to a consortium comprising Fraport and Slentel Ltd. for €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion).

That deal has now been finalized, with the signature of Greece’s ministers of finance, transport and defense — Euclides Tsakalotos, Christos Spritzis and Panos Kammenos — the Greek privatization agency said in a statement late Tuesday.

Under the terms of the concession, the Fraport consortium “will use, operate and develop the airports over a period of 40 years.”

The investors are obliged to upgrade the airports within the first four years of the concession and “maintain and preserve service levels for the whole duration.”

The Greek state will retain ownership of all infrastructure and facilities built by the consortium.

It was a “milestone agreement... with overall multiple benefits expected for the Greek economy,” said agency chief Antonis Leousis.

On top of the lump sum of €1.2 billion, the consortium will also pay an annual lease of €22.9 million, the statement said.

The airport privatization was agreed within the framework of a massive €86 billion EU bailout in July 2015 to prevent Greece from crashing out of the euro zone.