Vassil Levski Sofia Airport has secured a strategic 450 million euro financing from international capital markets with a 22-year maturity, the airport said on May 14.

The financing mobilises new funding for the construction of Terminal 3, which is scheduled to start in autumn 2026, as well as for the modernisation of the existing airport infrastructure, the airport said.

“The planned investments will secure the capacity required to meet the airport’s needs and support its growth over the next 30 years, thus reinforcing its role as Bulgaria’s strategic gateway to Europe and beyond,” the statement said.

“The confirmed commitment of international institutional and private investors demonstrates confidence in the project’s sustainable development following the award of the concession, as well as in the airport’s growth potential.”

The airport’s statement said that the financing raised “is a strong signal to the Bulgarian economy at a pivotal moment after the country joined the eurozone  and further enhances the macroeconomic and financial reputation of Bulgaria as a credible destination for long-term infrastructure investors”.

The financing is structured through a combination of banking financing and a bond issuance, the first project finance bond of a public-private partnership project in Bulgaria to be issued on a regulated market (Euronext Dublin). It brings together a diversified group of leading international investors and financial partners, among them the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and UniCredit Group, the statement said.