The Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure has invited interested parties to submit an expression of interest in the execution of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for the long-term operation of Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport. Last year, a fifteen-year concession of the airport, awarded to Chinese investors, was terminated after they failed to meet obligations set out in their contract with the state, with each side blaming the other. Since then, the airport has been run by the state-owned DRI consulting and engineering company. Maribor has no scheduled commercial flights and has slipped behind Ljubljana and Portorož as the country’s third busiest international airport.
The Ministry noted, “The long-term operation of the airport is planned within the framework of a Public-Private Partnership, encompassing the development of infrastructure and an accompanying commercial program. A national spatial plan is being drafted for Maribor Airport. It will provide the basis for its modernisation in line with contemporary commercial passenger and cargo transport, as well as the overhaul of airport and non-airport infrastructure in accordance with national transport and security requirements under international (ICAO) and European (EASA) standards”. The airport’s former Chinese operator accused the state of failing to adopt a new spatial plan, preventing it from launching a planned 660-million-euro redevelopment project.
The Slovenian Minister for Infrastructure, Alenka Bratušek, previously said, “The long-term options for Maribor Airport involve either finding a new operator or selling the airport. I believe the first option is more likely. I do wonder how such a bad partner had been chosen to run the airport in the first place". Parties interested in the PPP have until March 16 to submit their non-binding expressions of interest. “The final form of the Public-Private Partnership, the scope and content of the project, and the obligations of the partners shall be defined in a tender call to select the private partner”, the Ministry concluded.
Comments
She asked exactly the same thing about Adria
Only solution is to subsidise routes just like Skopje and Nis did.
Another possible solution is to negotiate with W6, just like TSR or KIV did.
There are no flights to Paris, London nor major cities like Prague or Warsaw. Let alone KLU.
That said, the Serbian government gave JU money to fly routes no one else wanted to fly.
The flights launched in June 2007 ended in March 2008 but they should've launched them in winter first and not summer.
Maribor is in for another shock, that is - you can't run a ski slopes below 1000m in this warming climate.
Most people visiting Slovenia want to go to Ljubljana, Bled and the seaside.
1hr to Graz.
1hr 15min to Ljubljana
1hr 18min to Zagreb
- LH to MUC
- Wizz or easyJet to LON
- few charter for ski resorts and few charters for summer tourist to Turkey, Egypt and Greece
- few business planes (they should have much lower prices than Graz to atract planes to come not just for Maribor aria)
- sport planes
...and, well, it can be cute little airport.
keep the fingers cross!
build up direct connection regional train airport maribor terminal - maribor - graz airport - graz we all could have something from such kind of the logistics offer....
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/09/vlm-slovenia-to-launch-belgrade-service.html
If an airline comes back to Maribor, would it be a LCC and what other airline would start a route their?