The delegations of prospective concessionaires for Montenegro will be in Podgorica on Monday and Tuesday, where they will engage in discussions with government representatives, the Tender Commission, and consultants from IFC, as confirmed by several sources today.

According to unofficial reports, potential airport concessionaires are expected to meet with IFC and members of the Ministry of Economic Development, including Nik Gjeloša, who specializes in the tourism economy within PKCG, and they will likely introduce members of the Government.

Essentially, the purpose of the potential concessionaires’ visit is to ascertain their ongoing interest in the concession and to determine whether they will submit bids in the airport tender or have opted out.

Conversely, the IFC, which is receiving a substantial sum of money, is expected to clarify the rules of engagement for the concessionaires and outline any changes made since the original tender announcement at the end of 2019.

The meetings, as cited by multiple sources, are expected to be informative, with no decision-making related to the concession taking place.

Delegations from Corporacion America Airports, Incon International Airports, and the French-Turkish Consortium Aeroport de Paris (ADP) and TAV will reportedly be present in Podgorica. These three bidders successfully passed the pre-qualification phase of the tender launched in 2019.

At the year’s end, the Tender Commission announced to the public that it would continue with the tender process and requested bids for granting airports under concession from IFC by the end of this year.

The arrival of these potential concessionaires and the ensuing meetings are essentially preparatory steps for bidding, as the government is expected to decide by the end of the year whether to privatize the airports or develop them independently.

The airports in Montenegro have not seen significant investments due to uncertainties regarding whether a concessionaire will assume control.

The three interested concessionaires last visited Montenegro in late October 2021.