The government of Slovenia may soon exercise its right to terminate the concession to operate Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport, located in the north-east of the country, as the concessionaire did not pay its agreed monthly fee in September and October.

This was disclosed following the concessionaire's request for state aid, which was rejected by the Ministry for Infrastructure.

The 15-year concession was awarded to SHS Aviation, a Chinese-controlled company, in December 2016. The company had planned a EUR660 million (US$756.4 million) redevelopment of the airport, intended to transform it into a hub for Chinese tourists. However, according to SHS, this has been held up by the government's failure to prepare a zoning plan.

The government has the right to unilaterally terminate the concession agreement with SHS if the company misses another fee payment, which was due on 26 November. The rejection of the company's aid application, which requested EUR3.2 million (US$3.67 million), already demonstrates the government's dissatisfaction with the concessionaire.

The application was filed due to the airport's negative financial performance, having posted losses of EUR35,000 (~US$40,000) and EUR1.7 million (US$1.95 million) in 2017. Despite this, the Ministry of Infrastructure determined that SHS did not meet the necessary conditions to receive aid.