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Zagreb Airport concession reaches financial close

Aéroports de Paris Management (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aéroports de Paris), Bouygues Bâtiment International (a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction), TAV Airports, Viadukt (a Croatian construction company), the Marguerite Fund and IFC (a member of the World Bank Group), acting as the ZAIC-A Ltd consortium, owner of a 100% stake in the operating company MZLZ (Međunarodna Zračna Luka Zagreb d.d.), have just signed the financing agreements with the lenders and the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure for the Zagreb Airport concession

This step marks the financial closing of the concession project, the commencement of airport operations by MZLZ and the beginning of construction work on the new airport terminal. Ownership breakdown of the capital in MZLZ is as follows: Aéroports de Paris Management, 20.77%; Bouygues Bâtiment International, 20.77%; Marguerite Fund, 20.77%; IFC, 17.58%; TAV Airports, 15.0%; and Viadukt, 5.11%.

As a reminder, the concession contract includes:

  • the financing, design and construction of a 65,000 sqm airport terminal to replace the current one, now at saturation point.
  • operating the entire airport for close to 30 years; including the runways, the current passenger terminal during the entire construction period, the new terminal once it is completed, the cargo terminal, car parks and future property developments.

The project comprises a total investment of €331 million: €243 million for the design and construction of the new terminal and €88 million for the maintenance of the airport infrastructure over the entire period of the concession.

In the context of a technical assistance contract, Aéroports de Paris Management and TAV Airports will be responsible for operating and maintaining the airport. This new airport will further expand the portfolio of 21 and 12 airports already operated by Aéroports de Paris Management and by TAV Airports, respectively.

Construction works, which are under way, will last three years and will be carried out by Bouygues Bâtiment International in conjunction with Viadukt and other industry-recognised Croatian contractors. Following Larnaka and Paphos in Cyprus, Iqaluit in Canada, this is now the 4th new airport terminal to be built by Bouygues Bâtiment International as a PPP (Public-Private Partnership), within the framework of a project company in which it is one of the principal shareholders. The new terminal has been designed by the architects Kincl, Neidhardt & Radic, with support from the design office IGH, who have joined forces to develop a daring, yet functional, design. Its construction will involve between 700 and 800 people during peak times. Particular attention will be paid to sustainable construction, as the project aims to secure LEED© certification.

Once completed, the new terminal – scheduled to be delivered at the end of 2016 – will be capable of handling 5 million passengers annually, compared to the current capacity of 2 million passengers.

The financial lenders for this project are the European Investment Bank (EIB), IFC, Unicredit Bank Austria and Deutsche Bank.