Eight foreign companies are interested in taking part in Belgrade Airport's privatisation process. According to the "Večernje novosti" daily, Germany's Fraport, France's Vinci and Bouygues, as well as two companies from the United Arab Emirates and three from China have expressed interest in participating in a potential concession. The French consultancy firm Lazard, which is acting as a privatisation advisor, is yet to decide whether the airport should be sold or given up for concession for a set period of time. Sources close to the Serbian government have said a 25 to 30-year concession is more likely, with the option for the deal to be extended to fifty years. Recently, Belgrade Airport's Executive Director, Raša Ristivojević, said, "We have held talks with representatives from Lazard and we defined several points concerning the privatisation. It will most likely be a concession or a public-private partnership. We need fresh capital so Belgrade Airport can expand even further".
Germany's Fraport purchased a 75.5% stake in Ljubljana Airport's operator for 144.1 million euros, and later paid 61.75 euros per share for the remaining 24.5% in the operator. In 2014 it emerged that Fraport had prepared a bid for Belgrade Airport had its offer for Ljubljana been rejected. On the other hand, the French concession and construction company Vinci has previously shown interest in vying for a concession of Belgrade Airport. In November 2014, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of joint projects. The MoU was also co-signed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and his Serbian counterpart. Vinci Airports Chairman, Nicolas Notebaert, has said, "Vinci Airports have an ambition to cooperate on the development of Belgrade Airport and other Serbian airports. We are interested in long-term partnerships". In 2014, Vinci lost out in a bid to acquire a majority stake in Ljubljana Airport. In addition, Bouygues currently holds a 20.77% stake in the consortium running Zagreb Airport. In the summer of 2014, two companies from the United Arab Emirates, one of which is Arabtec Holding, the Persian Gulf’s largest construction company, expressed interest in taking part in a potential concession. Furthermore, Hong Kong-based Friedmann Pacific, which owns China Aircraft Leasing Group, the country’s largest aircraft operating leaser, is also believed to be in the running. It too put up a bid for Ljubljana Airport two years ago and this April won a concession of Tirana Airport together with the China Everbright Group.
According to the daily, the airport's new operator will be required to build a new terminal, runway and supporting infrastructure such as a hotel, cargo centre and car park. Furthermore, local authorities are considering extending the railway network to link the city with the airport. The Serbian government holds an 83.2% stake in Belgrade Airport's operator which counts 1.806 employees. The airport handled a record 4.77 million passengers last year and posted a net profit of 26 million euros. Its current market capitalisation stands at 277.7 million euros. The airport is expected to fetch anywhere between 100 and 500 million dollars, depending on whether a concession or outright privatisation is negotiated.
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