Novaport acquires stake in Stavropol Airport

The Russian airport holding has bought 48.8% of the airport's shares, but the administration of Stavropol Region remains the owner of the majority stake of 51.2% (Stavropol Airport)

Novaport, the Russian airport holding, has aquired a 48.8% stake in Stavropol Airport, the administration of Stavropol Regions reports. The stake was earlier owned by Aviaservis company, and the administration of the region remains the owner of the remaining, majority stake of 51.2%.

Head of Novaport Roman Trotsenko has announced intentions to boost the airport’s trafic by 70% by 2022, to over 600,000 passengers per year, Kommersant daily writes. In 2017 this airport located in Southern Russia handled 356,200 passengers, which was 8.5% up on 2016 traffic.

Stavropol is not the only airport, which attracted Novaport’s interest recently. In September 2017 the holding purchased Baikal airport in Ulan-Ude, West Siberia, and voiced plans to participate in reconstruction of several other airports across Russia.

In early 2018 Novaport’s owned Novosibirsk International Airport participated in a tender for Novy Urengoy airport reconstruction, but lost to Urengoyaeroinvest, part of competitor holding Airports of Regions.

Novaport currently owns airports in Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo), Tyumen (Roschino), Chelyabinsk (Balandino), Perm (Bolshoye Savino), Kaliningrad (Khrabrovo), Murmansk, Volgograd (Gumrak), Astrakhan (Narimanovo), Mineralnye Vody, Tomsk (Bogashevo), Chita (Kadala), Kemerovo, Barnaul and Ulan-Ude.

It has also expressed interest in foreign assets. In March 2017 the Russian holding submitted a bid for Belgrade airport in Serbia, into which Trotsenko intended to invest up to $250 million, but was surpassed by French  Vinci Airports, which offered 501 million euros.