During half a year, the government is to take a decision concerning the Chisinau International Airport, said Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu. According to him, the Airport necessitates investments of billions of lei, but the state cannot cover such costs. Therefore, the authorities are looking for massive investments and for a strategic partner. Representatives of a renowned French company with experience in airport management will come to Chisinau next week to see the Airport, IPN reports.
Minister Spînu said the whole airport infrastructure necessitates large investments, but the government and the Chisinau International Airport do not have sufficient funds. Therefore, the state is interested in attracting a strategic investor that can develop and manage the Airport.
“The Airport needs €200-300 million in investments and the money should start to be invested in the immediate period. This means a new terminal, repair of landing strips and parking lots, a new parking place for visitors as the current infrastructure of the Airport is close to reaching its maximum capacity. At the moment, neither the Airport nor the state has €300 million or 6 billion lei. In this regard, we are looking for the best solution to attract these investments and for a strategic partner that would meet a number of criteria, would have money and the capacity to build at the highest standards, would have relations with airlines, which would be persuaded to come and operate flights from here,” Andrei Spînu stated in the program “Résumé with Ileana Pîrgaru” on RliveTV channel.
The minister noted that he cannot yet say if it would be a concession agreement or a management contract, but the authorities must act swiftly to find a solution and modernize the airport.
“Next week, a famous French company comes to Chisinau to visit the Airport. On the one hand, the state manages the Airport. On the other hand, we aim to find a long-term solution so that we have modern infrastructure and more flights. I cannot say that it will be concession as there are a number of models. The public-private partnership is one of these models. The management contract is another model. Attracting a loan for investing in infrastructure is also a model. It’s yet definite that things cannot remain like this and during the next half a year the government will have to take a decision. When the decision is taken, I will make it known and will say if it is a management contract, purely financial investment, concession or public-private partnership. We will provide all the necessary arguments and explanations,” said the Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
In 2013, the Chisinau International Airport was conceded for 49 years to Avia Invest company. In March 2023, the airport officially returned under state management, being now run by the state-owned company “Chisinau International Airport”.
