Bulgaria will award a concession on Sofia Airport for a period of 35 years, the government has decided.

The cabinet plans to seek an upfront payment of a concession fee from the winner of the concession in order to repay debt of Bulgarian State Railways company (BDZ), Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski told reporters on Tuesday.

Moskovski told public radio broadcaster BNR last week that the upfront payment could be in the amount of BGN 600 M (EUR 300 M).

Details of the planned procedure for selecting a concessionaire of Bulgaria’s biggest international airport will become clear in the next 10 days following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Those details include the concession fee, an investment programme and a breakdown of investment by years.

Bulgaria hopes to earn a net BGN 1.2 B (EUR 600 M) from the concession over 35 years, Moskovski said.

Potential candidates for the concession will face end-September deadline to submit their offers, he added

The concession-awarding process will unfold in parallel with a state-aid notification procedure for BDZ at the European Commission.

The government hopes to have received clearance from the Commission to use proceeds from the concession for repayment of outstanding debt of BDZ by the end of September, Moskovski said.

BDZ's outstanding debt totalled about BGN 470 M (EUR 235 M) as of end-March.