DFIs help finance €240m upgrades to Sofia Airport
The International Finance Corporation is providing €30 million (about $36 million) to SOF Connect, the Sofia Airport concessionaire, as part of private sector-led investment and upgrades to the airport. This is the first major airport-sector transaction to close in the Europe and Central Asia region since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the total financing package of €240 million (about $289 million), IFC's funding will be used to modernize and upgrade the airport, including refurbishment and optimization of existing terminal facilities and aircraft gates to boost efficiency, provide quality passenger services, and expand commercial offerings.
The concession agreement between Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Information Technology, and Communications and SOF Connect - a project company established by Meridiam's Europe Infrastructure III Fund — as the main investor was signed in July last year. The pool of lenders comprises IFC, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, UniCredit, Societe Generale, Kommunalkredit and DSK Bank.
IFC, as the lead transaction advisor, helped the government design a competitive and transparent tender for this public-private partnership—the first major PPP in Bulgaria over the last decade and the first under the new Concession Act. Under the PPP model, SOF Connect AD will be responsible for improving the airport's operations, quality of service, and financing the airport's infrastructure upgrades over the next 35 years before transferring it back to the government.
