S t. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport is in need of reconstruction and development, and the municipal government has awarded the competitive tender to a consortium consisting of VTB Capital, Fraport, and Greek investment group Copelouzos. The €1.4 billion deal is Russia’s first major Public Private Partnership (PPP).
The consortium known as Northern Capital Gateway Ltd., won out over another consisting of Basic Element Holding owner Oleg Deripaska, Vienna airport operator Flughafen Wien, and pension fund manager Gazprom.
The project calls for building a new modern passenger terminal and rebuilding the airport’s current infrastructure. Upon completion Fraport will become the operators of the airport for the length of the 30 agreement with the city of St. Petersburg.
Pulkovo Airport (www.pulkovoairport.ru)
Pulkovo Airport is the 4th busiest Russian airport, located roughly 20 km south of the city of St. Petersburg. It consists of two terminals; Pulkovo-1 serves mainly domestic flights while Pulkovo-2 is for international flights. The airport has seen an increase in traffic in the last two years after more than a decade of stagnation. In 2008 it serviced in excess of 7.07 million passengers, an increase of more than 15% over the previous year. Experts estimate Pulkovo could see as many as 17 million passengers by 2025.
VTB Capital (www.vtbcapital.com)
VTB Capital is the investment banking arm of VTB Group, a global financial group active in Africa, Asia, the CIS and Western Europe. Its core business is focused on debt and equity markets, private investment, asset management, and commodities markets. VTB Capital operates offices in Moscow, London and Singapore.
