June 2020 – Kinstellar is honoured to announce that, on 5 June 2020, the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court gave a “green light” to the Bulgarian government and the SOF Connect consortium, led by French infrastructure fund Meridiam and including Strabag AG and Flughafen München GmbH, to proceed with the signing of a 35-year concession contract to operate Sofia Airport.
The Court upheld the decision of the Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) that the Sofia Airport concession was lawfully granted to SOF Connect and that all appeals of other bidders against the award are unfounded.
This latest administrative approval will allow the consortium to implement its unique vision to grow Sofia Airport over the next 35 years. The investment embedded in this long-term public-private partnership will contribute to Bulgaria´s economic growth and support the Bulgarian government and local authorities to achieve significant social, economic and environmental benefits across the region.
Kinstellar’s Sofia team advised Meridiam on the Bulgarian legal aspects of the project throughout the bidding procedure, alongside Willke Farr & Gallagher Paris acting as international counsel on the project. Our team acted as lead legal counsel of SOF Connect during litigation procedures before the CPC and the Court.
Kinstellar’s litigation team was led by Diana Dimova (Managing Partner) and Mladen Minev (Counsel) and included Antonia Mavrova (Partner), Dessislava Fessenko (Of Counsel), Simeon Vachev and Denitsa Kuzeva (Associates).