The Ministry of Transport and Communications insists that the concessionaire of Vasil Levski Airport - Sofia SOF Connect should start paying the full amount of the due concession fee from January 1, 2026. For 2025, the amount is nearly EUR 40 million excluding VAT. This was announced at a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov and SOF Connect CEO Jesús Caballero and representatives of the company.
“Passenger traffic is fully restored and exceeds pre-pandemic levels. The reported revenues for the period 2021-2024 exceed the projections under the financial model from the start date of the concession and in 2024 they almost reach even the values of the concessionaire's offer. The actual operating profit before taxes exceeds the forecast under the Covid model, and in 2024 exceeds the values under the offer model. In practice, Vasil Levski Airport - Sofia is in better condition than what the concessionaire predicted when submitting the offer,” Karadzhov said, citing the text of the contract and the 2021 Supplementary Agreement.
According to SOF Connect, the conditions for reimbursement of concession payments have not been met and they can offer EUR 9 million instead of EUR 40 million per year, and the deferral should extend until 2031. The concessionaire believes that the results should be viewed on a “cumulative basis”, i.e. for the entire concession period of 35 years. They also claim that a full traffic recovery does not mean that “COVID-19 no longer has a negative impact on the concession”, and even with restored traffic, COVID losses continue, the company says.
Deputy Prime Minister Karadzhov disagreed with these arguments. “You cannot artificially mix the years of lockdown with the years of recovery to create the illusion that the balance has not been achieved. Such “equilibriums” are not provided for in the contract or in the Concessions Act,” he said.
“I understand the reluctance to pay the concession fee for as long as possible, but the contract and the annex to it are clear - the deferral of payments is valid until the economic balance is restored. It is a temporary anti-crisis measure given in an exceptional situation – the global pandemic, not an amnesty for eternity. The requirement is clear: when the market recovers — payments also resume. The facts show that the Covid crisis and its consequences have already passed. At the moment, the concession is economically imbalanced to the detriment of the state, which is unacceptable both because of the losses to the budget and because of the threat of sanctioning Bulgaria for inadmissible state aid,” Grozdan Karadzhov was adamant.
The Deputy Prime Minister also described as strange SOF Connect's insistence that the state compensate it with EUR 70-80 million for the upcoming repair of the runway as required by EASA. There is indeed a provision in the contract that allows in certain cases the concessionaire to be compensated - when there is a “qualified legislative change” occurring after the date of the contract, and it imposes unforeseen capital costs.
“However, EASA's requirements do not fall into this hypothesis - they arise from the ICAO standards adopted and communicated with Bulgaria as early as March 2020, i.e. before the concession contract entered into force. The maintenance of the runway in good working order and in accordance with the aviation requirements is the main obligation of the concessionaire under the contract. EU airports, which are on concession, carry out similar repairs without the state compensating them. This is part of the operator's normal capital program. The concessionaire is responsible for the repair of the runway, not the Bulgarian state,” Karadzhov said.
Therefore, he stated that he expects a new annex to be signed as soon as possible with SOF Connect to resume in full the annual concession payments from January 1, 2026. The concessionaire must also provide clear parameters and deadlines for the implementation of its investment program - the repair of the runway as required by EASA and the faster construction of Terminal 3.
“The state has a firm and consistent position to protect the public interest, ensure airport security and comply with the concession agreement. And there is no intention of changing it for someone's private interest,” the Deputy Prime Minister added.
