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Fraport Greece and its Greek partner Copelouzos Group have finally achieved the financial closure for the privatization of 14 Greek regional airports.

The financing amount consists of €1.5 billion (US$1.6 billion) provided by  the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and Alpha Bank.

The Greek government aimed to implent a significant privatization programme, which included the privatization of 14 regional airports in Greece with a view to transferring responsibility for their modernization, maintenance, management and operation to the private sector under long-term concession agreements.

Combined, the 14 Greek regional airports served about 22 million passengers in 2014 and are expected to exceed the 23 million passenger mark in 2015. International passengers account for about 77 % of the total traffic at these gateways.  The concession is divided into two clusters:

• Cluster A includes the airports of Thessaloniki, Corfu, Chania, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Aktion, Kavala and
• Cluster B includes the airports of Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Mitilini, Mykonos, Santorini,Skiathos.

With an offer consisting of an upfront payment of €1.234 billion (US$1.355 billion) and an annual payment of €22.9 million (US$25.1 million) for the for the 40 years of the contract’s duration.