SHS Aviation, which controls Slovenia’s second-largest airport in Maribor, has signed a deal on a €660mn revamp of the airport with China State Construction Engineering Corporation. 

SHS Aviation, a company registered in Slovenia but backed by Chinese capital, will manage Maribor airport for the next 15 years, as agreed last December. 

The deal with China State Construction Engineering Corporation was signed on November 26 in Budapest as part of the summit of China and 16 Central and East European countries. If it goes ahead, Maribor will get a longer runway and a facelift, Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported on November 27.

Details of the deal have not been disclosed, but an advisor to the Maribor mayor told STA that the deal defined commitments for both sides. However, he acknowledged it was unclear whether the deal was a contract or a letter of intent, and said that everything depends on changing the state zoning plan for Maribor airport.

"The development of the airport is going according to plan. The next step is drafting the state zoning plan for extending the runway, which the infrastructure ministry promised would be ready by the end of March," Maribor mayor Andrej Fistravec said, adding that the zoning plan is the foundation for all subsequent investment, STA reported.

The Slovenian government has recently appointed a task force to draft changes to the zoning plan, including the extension of the runway from 2,500 to 3,300 metres, an expansion of the apron, a de-icing area and an area to upgrade and develop airport infrastructure.

SHS Aviation paid €7m for the long-term lease of the airport and will pay a further €95,000 a month (VAT excluded) with the option of a five-year extension. The transaction was carried out through Rim Projekt, which is to get €3mn from SHS Aviation now that the long-term lease contract has been signed. The contract was signed just a couple of hours before the Chinese company announced its plans for the Slovenian airport.