Limak and Aeroport de Lyon will spend 140 million euros to rebuild the Pristina International Airport.
Limak Holding and French firm Aéroport de Lyon will be rebuilding Pristina International Airport after having won Kosovo’s first privatization tender.

The joint venture will make 140 million euros in investments in the airport by 2012.

The tender’s contract was signed Thursday at a ceremony in Pristina between the Kosovar government and the Limak Kosovo International Airport JSC Consortium, led by the Turkish holding. The government was represented by Transportation Minister Fatmir Limaj and Finance and Economy Minister Ahmet Shala.

“With today’s signatures we come to an important stage in the process initiated with our declaration of independence two years ago. Limak has proved to be a reliable partner with its investments in many countries. We believe they will also be interested in our highway tenders,” Shala said at the ceremony, adding that the Kosovar government is determined to remove all obstacles investors may face.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Sezai Bacaksız, deputy chairman of Limak’s executive committee, said they aim to increase the airport’s yearly capacity from 1 million passengers to 4 million. He added that they will impress their shareholders with the quality and pace of their reconstruction of Pristina’s airport with a performance similar to their work on Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, on İstanbul’s Asian side.

The consortium, 90 percent owned by Limak and 10 percent by Aéroport de Lyon, will have the authority to operate the Kosovar airport for 20 years and will pay a percentage of their profits to the country’s government. Once the construction, which will start in six months, is finished, the airport will cover an area of 104,000 square meters and will feature a car park with a capacity of 1,750 vehicles.