The Bulgarian Government decided on 30 March to award the concession of the airport in Plovdiv, the country's second largest city, officials say.

At a ministerial meeting, a previous announcement by Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski was confirmed that envisages the opening of a procedure to grant a 35-year concession (the maximum initial length under Bulgarian law) on the airport.

The aim is to "attract a financially stable investor with experience in the management, exploitation and development of airports" that will also contribute to the improvement of the existing infrastructure in line with current international standards, according to the Government's press office.

A future investor should also help "transfer management know-how, generate traffic and develop commercial activities in the area".

A new cargo terminal should be set up and operated by a future investor.

The set of criteria to be used in evaluating the bidders includes the size of annual concession fees (40% of the final evaluation), the investment programme (35%), and the management and development programme (25%).