Albania’s airport gets 22 million euro loan from EBRD

TIRANA, March 29 – Officials from Mother Teresa Tirana International Airport signed a 22 million euro loan with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to extend its passenger terminal.
Speaking on Friday, airport officials said the extension will allow for a 50 percent increase in traffic to 1.5 million passengers per year.
Construction is set to begin this summer and targeted for completion by late 2009.
Last year, the operators of Mother Teresa Tirana International Airport built new passenger and cargo terminals and improved road access to the airport.
TIA has received 46.9 million Euros in total loans for further modernization and expansion. Besides EBRD, the loans were provided by DEG-Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), Alpha Bank and the American Bank of Albania (ABA).
A total of 22.0 million Euros was earmarked for the expansion project.
The project includes extending the new passenger terminal, constructing additional airport buildings and investing in new equipment and systems.
“These loans will help TIA to raise, even further, its profile of the highly successful infrastructure facility in the Albanian capital, to the benefit of both our company and Albania. By implementing Phase B at the airport, and with our strategic partnership with the banks, we will ensure long-term high standards in comfort and safety for our customers, as well as solid growth and sustainable development into the future,” said Reinhard Kalenda, Chairman of the Administrative Council of Tirana International Airport.
The remaining 24.9 million Euros will be used to restructure the original loans the banks provided to TIA in 2005, reflecting TIA’s improved risk profile. The provision of new terms to TIA is an outcome of its recent accomplishments and successful operations.
“This project is crucially important to Albania’s economic development. The terms of the new loan send a clear and positive message about the state of development of the commercial, political and legal environment for public-private partnerships in Albania. Its innovative structure makes it a showcase for private-sector investment in medium-sized airport operations in the region. This is a model that could well be replicated elsewhere in south-eastern Europe,” said Sue Barrett, EBRD Director for Transport.
The first loan from the banks was used for construction of the new passenger terminal, new cargo terminal and new parking facilities. This Phase A of the Concession Agreement was successfully completed in March 2007, with the opening of the passenger terminal, and since then TIA has set records in the number of passengers and airlines using the airport.
Beginning 23 April 2005, overall responsibility for the development, operation and management of Tirana International Airport N쯫 Tereza has been in the hands of Tirana International Airport SHPK (TIA), an Albanian company under German-American ownership. The shareholders are HOCHTIEF AirPort, DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft and the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund. Backed by the shareholders’ expertise in airport management and financing, TIA has set itself the goal of expanding the airport in 2008 and setting new standards of comfort, convenience and service. During 2007, more than EUR 50 million were invested in the airport.
Last year, TIA built a new passenger as well as cargo terminals and a 6.5-kilometer access road near Tirana, raising its capacity to 1.1 million passengers and 3,483 tons of cargo by the end of 2007, a 22 percent and 65 percent increase, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Fourteen airlines fly directly to the Albanian capital, Tirana, with continuing services to 30 destinations.