The Montenegrin government is expected to name the new concessionaire of Podgorica and Tivat airports on June 9. Two bids have officially been submitted for the thirty-year management contract. The Tender Commission confirmed that proposals were received from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corporation and the South American Luxembourg-based Corporacion America Airports. The bids were opened on May 9, and the evaluation process is expected to be completed within thirty days, at which point an announcement is anticipated. The much-delayed concession process aims to bring long-term investment and improved airport services. Turkey’s TAV, which was also in the running, has withdrawn from the process.
Incheon International Airport, which manages South Korea’s main hub in Seoul, has been attempting to establish a foothold in the region. It was a finalist in the concession processes in both Zagreb and Belgrade but ultimately missed out to its French counterparts. It also runs the airports in Manila, Jakarta and Kuwait Terminal 4. Corporacion America Airports operates 52 airports in six countries across Latin America and Europe, including in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Armenia and Italy. It previously bid for the concession of Belgrade Airport.
The airport workers’ union has voiced concerns over transparency in the concession process and the protection of employee rights. They criticised the absence of worker representation in the tender commission and called for legal guarantees safeguarding labour agreements in the event of a change in ownership or management.
The criteria for the bidding parties include the operation of at least one airport handling a minimum of five million international passengers annually over the past three years, and another airport with at least two million passengers annually over the same period; or operation of a single airport with at least ten million international passengers annually over the past three years. The bidder must also have experience in the development, design, engineering, procurement and construction, or management and monitoring of construction of an airport project with a minimum aggregate value of 300 million euros over the last ten years, including at least one project worth 100 million euros.
