site.btaOutgoing Transport Minister Karadjov Presses SOF Connect on Concession Payments

The state sent letters to SOF Connect demanding full compliance with its concession contract, outgoing Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov said on Wednesday.

He spoke to reporters at a ceremony marking the validation of the first postage stamp for 2026, titled Bulgaria in the Eurozone.

Karadjov said preliminary data held by his ministry showed the concession payment for 2025 exceeded all initial and later forecasts, including those made during the COVID-19 pandemic. He added the calculated amount due for 2025 came to EUR 38 million.

He added that a second letter was also sent on Wednesday, in which the state proposed a specific contract addendum to allow the amount due to be paid in two equal installments. Karadjov said the proposal could only go ahead with SOF Connect’s consent.

Karadjov noted that the concessionaire was currently sticking to an already signed addendum and, in oral talks, had signalled it was ready to pay EUR 9 million rather than the full concession payment.

“Where and how the two sides’ positions will meet will probably be a question for the next minister,” Karadjov said.

At the beginning of January, Yes, Bulgaria said it will submit a draft parliamentary decision requiring the Council of Ministers to resume concession fee payments under the Vasil Levski Sofia Airport concession in 2026, arguing the COVID-era deferral is no longer justified and the post-2025 fiscal framework needs predictable concession revenue. The party said the deferral shifted more than EUR 79 million (2021-2023 fees) to 2046-2048: an indicative present value of about EUR 42 million as of 2026.

In November 2025, the Transport Ministry asked the concessionaire SOF Connect to resume full payments from January 1, 2026.