site.btaYes, Bulgaria Moves to Resume Sofia Airport Concession Fees in 2026

Yes, Bulgaria will table a draft decision in Parliament to require the Council of Ministers to take steps to resume payments under the Vasil Levski Sofia Airport concession agreement in 2026, the party's press centre said on Thursday. 

The party said the payment deferral was introduced as a temporary anti-crisis measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, but traffic and revenue indicators are recovering faster than expected. The fiscal framework after 2025 envisages concession income and needs predictability.

The expected outcome is the return of budget revenue from 2026, increased certainty for public finances, and improved contractual discipline through a completed and publicly justified review. Yes, Bulgaria added that the financial impact would be positive for the revenue side of the budget without additional spending. The deferral of the concession fee due was granted without interest for the deferral period, which in practice amounted to financial relief for the concessionaire and lost revenue for the State, the party added.

The party noted that for the first three reporting periods since the start of the concession, the annual concession fee due came to more than EUR 17.2 million for the period April 20–December 31, 2021, more than EUR 27.2 million for 2022 and more than EUR 34.5 million for 2023, for a total of more than EUR 79 million pre-VAT. Under the current deferral, these amounts were shifted for payment in 2046–2048, the party added. Using conservative assumptions and a 3% discount rate, deferring payments for 2046–2048 results in an indicative present value as of 2026 of some EUR 42 million, the press release said.   

In November last year, the Transport and Communications Ministry insisted that the concessionaire of Vasil Levski Sofia Airport, SOF Connect, resume paying the full concession fee from January 1, 2026.