The result of a long-running procedure to find a concessionaire for Sofia Airport in Bulgaria has concluded, with the award being made to a consortium. Following a 90-day tender evaluation, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) has selected a consortium comprising Munich Airport GmbH and the asset manager Meridiam to operate and manage Sofia Airport for 35 years under the consortium name ‘Sof Connect’.

This outcome was pretty well unexpected because those two had not figured highly in the odds and had not made the highest financial offer. 

However, perhaps it was a dose of pragmatism that won the consortium this deal as they identified crucial infrastructure and operational failings and offered to do something about them forthwith, rather than engaging in airy-fairy musings on grand schemes in the distant future.