A consortium led by HNA Airport Group and Netherlands-registered Plovdiv Airport Invest has won the concession to operate Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria for a period of 35 years.

The Bulgarian government said that the concessionaire will have to invest around Euro 79 million (US$97 million) in the first five years on new facilities, and to rehabilitate existing infrastructure.

Plovdiv Airport, which is located some 160 km southeast of Sofia, is the fourth busiest airport in Bulgaria.

The concession tender, called in January 2017, was suspended in July last year, when a disqualified bidder lodged a court appeal against the decision. Following a ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court earlier this month to dismiss the complaint, the tender was resumed.

The HNA Group led consortium was announced as the winning bidder on March 28, in a process conducted under the Bulgarian Concession Act, which was drawn up within EU guidelies. The Bulgarian Transport Ministry has two months from that date to sign the concession contract.

Last October low cost carrier Ryanair celebrated the first flight on its new twice weekly Plovdiv service to Brussels Charleroi. Ryanair’s Plovdiv winter schedule included four routes in total, including the new routes to Frankfurt Hahn (also owned by HNA Group) and Milan Bergamo. Plovdiv is Bulgaria's second largest city.

HNA Group was selected as concessionaire in spite of its high profile problems. HNA is in the midst of a series of asset sales in order to pay down debt and deleverage. It has pressed ahead quickly with sales of stakes in Park Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations, as well as plots of development lnd in Hong Kong. However plans to IPO Swiss-based airline caterer Gategroup were recently scrapped at the last moment.

The Chinese government is discouraging the acquisition of trophy assets, but Plovdiv Airport fits in well with its emphasis on infrastructure that can be utilised as part of the Belt & Road initiative. The concession agreement includes the right to build and operate a cargo terminal. while the Bulgarian government also has plans for a an intermodal transport terminal near Plovdiv.

HNA Group has a controlling stake in sixteen airports across China.