Chinese mull Užice Airport takeover

A Chinese conglomerate with investments in aviation and tourism has expressed interest in taking over Užice's Ponikve Airport in Western Serbia. The airport boasts a new passenger terminal but has no commercial traffic. The Chinese company, which has not been named for confidentiality purposes, recorded a turnover of six billion US dollars last year and has a stake in an airline. The interest comes following a visit by a twenty-strong Chinese business delegation to Užice last week. Commenting on the potential takeover of the airport, Linda Wang, who headed the delegation and is also the economic advisor to the Mayor of Užice, said, "We will take the investment proposal for Užice Airport back to Beijing, where it will be analysed by experts. If the project is profitable, talks will continue with the authorities".

Užice Airport is the second in Serbia to boast a new terminal building with little or no traffic. The airport was initially to open for commercial use in August of last year, following the completion of the new passenger terminal. "The runway is 3.100 metres long, of which 2.200 metres have been overhauled. The length is more than enough to accommodate larger aircraft. However, the main problem, and the reason we are still unable to handle any flights, is the lack of a perimeter fence", the General Manager of Užice Airport, Saša Savić, said. A further three million euros are required to complete the work, however, funding issues have delayed the opening until further notice. Local municipalities have called on the government to provide the necessary finances as the airport would boost both tourism and the local economy. "We are trying. We have a development plan, ambitions, big hopes and few resources. We built a terminal to try and bring the airport up to an acceptable standard. We had big plans for 2016 but unfortunately the funds that were promised to complete the runway overhaul and set up a fence never came. We have deferred those plans and now we can just sit and wait to see what will happen", the airport's General Manager said.

The Mayor of Užice, Tihomir Petković, noted that the Chinese have been presented with two investment models, "PPP [Public Private Partnership] is one option, and we are also ready to sell the airport, under the condition that we are given strong guarantees that there will be considerable investment in the entire airport complex". Užice Airport was destroyed during the 1999 NATO bombing. However, the Serbian government and the European Union have jointly invested over one million euros into the creation of a project masterplan, while significant funds were put into the removal of unexploded bombs around the airport's runway. Its control tower was reopened in 2013 following a major overhaul by the Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services Agency, while Belgrade Airport also donated funds.

The Užice region is home to some of Serbia's most exported goods. On the other hand, it is also close to several major cities in the former Yugoslavia, with Sarajevo and Belgrade just 118 kilometres away. During the 1996 summer season, JAT Yugoslav Airlines operated a two weekly Belgrade - Užice - Tivat service. Over the past few years, small private aircraft have used the airport during the daytime. However, questions have been raised whether Užice Airport will have the same fate as  Kraljevo, in central Serbia, which opened a new modern terminal building in 2012 which has not been used since.