The consortium TwoOne welcomes a positive decision of the Anti-Monopoly Office of the SR (the AMO SR) on a privatization of the Košice Airport. At the same time, the consortium considers disconcerting why the AMO SR failed to decide on the Košice Airport earlier, but a day before 15 August 2006 despite the fact that the concentration has been approved without reservations.
"Košice is the most important airport in the region, a catchment area of which encompasses four countries – Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine – and which is showing a double-digit increase in the number of passengers,” said Mr. Herbert Kaufmann, Chairman of the Board of Flughafen Wien AG.
The total number of passengers in 2005 represented approximately 270,000. In the first half of 2006, the number of passengers increased by more than 30 per cent compared to the same period in 2005, what means an increase by 137,000 passengers.
"Our project represents 415 million SKK for the Košice Airport, as a result of which we are expecting that a volume of transport in 2010 could reach 480 thousand passengers,” said the partner of the Private Equity Group Penta Investments, Mr. Jozef Oravkin.
The consortium is convinced that it has been meeting all conditions of the concentration even in case of the Bratislava Airport. Despite the prolonged period by the AMO, the consortium is expecting a positive decision.
The consortium TwoOne, which won a tender for the privatization of a 66 % stake in airports in Bratislava and Košice, consists of Flughafen Wien AG, Raiffeisen Zentralbank, and the Slovak Private Equity Group Penta.
For further information:
Flughafen Wien AG
Michael Kochwalter
Tel. +43/1/7007-22300
m.kochwalter@viennaairport.com
Penta Investments SR
Martin Danko
Tel. +421 903 287 518
danko.martin@penta.sk