GMR Airports Ltd (GAL) has submitted a bid for the development, operation and management of the new international airport of Heraklion at Crete Island, Greece.
GMR said the project involves design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the airport for a concession period of 35 years. The bid was submitted in association with its partner GEK Terna Group of Greece.
GMR’s subsidiary, GMR Infrastructure Ltd, will be the airport operator.
It is mandatory, under the bid conditions, for the operator to hold a minimum of 10 per cent equity stake in the consortium. Greek infrastructure company, GEK Terna has presence in construction, energy, mining and waste management.
“It is understood that this is the sole bid for this concession,” according to a GMR statement.
A GAL spokesperson said that the submission of the bid was in line with the GMR Group’s “asset light growth strategy.”
Greece receives more than 24 million tourists every year and Crete is the largest and most visited island.
