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Sofia Airport operator SOF Connect is investing BGN500 million ($275 million) in a third terminal, which is expected to be completed within eight years and expand the Bulgarian capital’s airport annual capacity to 20 million passengers.
SOF Connect won a 35-year concession for Bulgaria’s largest international airport in 2021. Last year, it handled 7.2 million passengers, a 10% annual increase. About 70% of this traffic traveled on LCCs.
“During the first three years of the concession, we increased the GDP of the whole country by 1.5%,” Sofia Airport CEO and Chairman Jesus Caballero Pinto told APG World Connect delegates in Malta. “We also reduced the country’s poverty by more than 15%, just with our activity in the first three years.”
Pinto said Sofia’s passenger numbers are projected to grow to more than 10 million by 2030 and 20 million by 2050. “We are expecting to reach this level [20 million] by the end of the concession, but we need to be ready before then.”
This has triggered SOF Connect to roll out a BGN1.2 billion investment plan over the period to 2055, including the new BGN500 million terminal.
Initially, SOF Connect plans to add capacity to Terminal 2, replacing the 70-year-old Terminal 1, which will be repurposed for business and VIP aviation traffic. In parallel, SOF Connect will develop Terminal 3, which is scheduled become operational in April 2031.
“This new terminal, together with Terminal 2, will give us capacity for 20 million passengers per year, the highest capacity in the Balkans,” Pinto said.
The concept design for Terminal 3 was finalized in July. Pinto said the team is working on an environmental impact assessment, with the aim of securing a construction permit by April 2026.
Cargo volume is also a priority for Sofia, with DHL, FedEx and UPS all serving the airport. Three months ago, a tender was launched to double the airport’s cargo capacity. The tender will be awarded before summer 2025.
The new terminal also is expected to offer rapid connections at “extremely competitive” prices, forming part of Sofia Airport’s plan to attract more airlines. “If you compare all the capital airports in Europe, we have the lowest airport charges,” Pinto said. “Our strategy is to be extremely efficient.”
Sofia aims to offer rapid turnarounds and walking stands to attract LCCs. This fits with the operational priorities outlined by the Easyjet head of airport development, Agi Smith, at Routes World in Bahrain.
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