News
HNA Group wins concession for Plovdiv Airport; plans to sell Hilton stake
April 6th 2018
China’s HNA Group will be running Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria for the next 35 years with plans to invest US$98 million to upgrade and expand the airport. Read More » Dutch-registered Plovdiv Airport Invest BV will also be part of the consortium managing the airport.
With a population of approximately 350,000, Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city and is 150km southeast of the country’s capital, Sofia. The Plovdiv airfield has no curfews which will enable airlines to operate 24-hour flight operations, an advantage for freight forwarders.
The government in Sofia resumed the tender for Plovdiv Airport last December after previous attempts failed to attract bidders. Plovdiv Airport will become the second European airport operated by the HNA Airport Group after Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in Germany.
The investments highlight the group’s intention to play an active role in the “Belt and Road” initiative. We will take advantage of Plovdiv Airport’s geographical position to promote the exchanges between China and Central European countries and Eastern European countries,” HNA Group said. HNA Airport Group operates 16 Mainland domestic airports, including Haikou, Sanya Phoenix and Yichang.
Bulgaria is understood to be launching a tender to run and operate the capital airport in Sofia. The airports in Burgas and Varna are managed by Fraport.
Separately, cash-starved HNA Group this week announced its intention to sell its 26.1% stake in Hilton Hotels. The conglomerate is Hilton’s largest shareholder; it acquired the stake in 2016 for approximately US$6.5 billion.
