Fraport to invest 1 bln in Greece’s regional airports

Fraport group head Stefan Schulte has pledged investments of over 1 billion euros and staff hirings at the 14 regional airports whose management has been undertaken by the consortium led by the German firm.

Speaking on Skai TV on Tuesday night, Schulte also appeared optimistic both about Fraport’s investment in Greece and the country’s eurozone membership.

The Fraport strongman rejected claims the 14 airports were conceded cheaply or that his company ever backed down on the agreement. “All of last year we had intensive discussions with [state sell-off fund] TAIPED and the government. We were always committed to this investment. We clearly said that we believed in Greece, and we continue to believe in Greece,” Schulte said.

He added that Fraport’s consortium with Greece’s Copelouzos group made the best bid in the tender, so there is no truth in claims of a bargain. He stressed that in the first few years Fraport will invest 300 million euros to improving the regional airports’ operation. “In the long term we will invest more than 1 billion euros,” he declared.

Schulte stressed that the Greek state remains the owner of the airports Fraport will manage, and that it will also be entitled to one third of the consortium’s annual profits. “Government always earn more in the end than if they operated the airports themselves,” he said.