The Northern Capital Gateway consortium - in which Frankfurt Airport owner Fraport holds a 35.5% share - is the preferred bidder to operate St. Petersburg Pulkovo Airport from 2010, following a tender process. The consortium beat two other bidders to the contract.

The City of St. Petersburg, the current owner and operator of Pulkovo Airport, revealed the news today.

The 30-year concession contract to develop, modernise and operate the airport in Russia’s second largest city is expected to be signed by the end of the 2009.

Phase one of the concession will focus on constructing a new passenger terminal, expanding ramp areas, developing real estate, and modernising the existing airport infrastructure.

Fraport's partners in the project are VTB, Russia's second largest financial institute, and Copelouzos Group, a Greek business and investment conglomerate. Fraport said it would “apply its decades of know-how gained at Frankfurt Airport and around the globe” to operating in St. Petersburg.

“We are optimistic [that we will] be awarded the contract following the final negotiations,” said Fraport AG Executive Board Chairman Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Bender in St. Petersburg. “Using our internationally recognised expertise we want to operate and expand Pulkovo Airport in a continuously growing Russian air transportation market. Pulkovo is the main transportation junction in one of Russia’s most popular tourist regions.”

Russia's fourth largest aviation gateway after the three Moscow airports, Pulkovo Airport welcomed 7.1 million passengers in 2008 and has registered strong passenger growth in recent years. It features two independent runways for takeoffs and landings as well as one domestic and one international passenger terminal.

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