ANALYSIS
Macedonia’s Premier PPP with
TAV Airports
Interview with Sani Sener, TAV Airports President & CEO
EM: TAV’s long-term Agreement for Public Private
Partnership was signed with the Macedonian
Government in 2008. 6 years on, how would
you characterize the company ‘s operations in
Macedonia? What are your plans for the coming
period?
Sener: We operate both airports in Macedonia and
they are very important for us. Macedonia and Turkey have deep historical connections; we have geographical proximity, cultural commonality and administrative similarities. Macedonia is an emerging
market and since the beginning, we believed in the
potential this country had. Macedonia, located in the
heart of the Balkans, is the gateway to Europe, and
this is important for us both from economic and social aspects. Airports are long-term investments. So
far, we were successful in achieving the numbers we
anticipated but we believe that we still have a great
room for growth in Macedonia. In close cooperation
with government authorities, the tourism sector and
other stakeholders, we’re working hard to establish
Skopje as a regional hub.
EM: TAV Holding operates airports also in Latvia,
Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. How
would you compare your experience working
with State institutions in Macedonia with these
other countries?
Sener: TAV Airports Holding is among the leading airport operators in the world, operating at 14 airports
in seven countries. In March 2014, we made the best
bid to operate Milas-Bodrum Airport in Turkey, for a
period of 20 years. Having undertaken the operation
of Milas-Bodrum Airport’s domestic terminal in July
15, 2014, TAV Airports will take over the operation of
the international terminal as from the last quarter of
2015. Through its subsidiaries, TAV Airports operates
in all areas of airport operations such as duty-free,
food and beverage services, ground services, IT, security and operations services. TAV, together with its
subsidiaries, provided services to approximately 652
thousand flights and 84 million passengers in 2013.
8
Today, investments are flowing from industrialized
countries to emerging markets that have a room for
growth. The crucial factor here is that emerging markets might have shortfalls in their physical or legal
infrastructure, which would jeopardize these investments. Fortunately, we have encountered a supportive and collaborative approach from the State institutions in the countries where we’ve invested. We
can give Macedonia as a perfect example on creating
an attractive environment for investors. Its legal systems are sound, physical infrastructure developed
and most importantly, government authorities are
very constructive. There will always be challenges; a
solution-oriented approach is the decisive factor and
Macedonia has it.
Emerging Macedonia Summer 2014 Issue 42