Hochtief promises investment as it takes over Budapest Airport

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EUR 261 million airport plans

A consortium led by Germany’s HOCHTIEF AirPort last Thursday promised to pump EUR 261 million into Budapest Airport over the next five years as it announced it had finalised the purchase of the company that runs Ferihegy international airport. Budapest Airport spokesman Domokos Szollár said in a statement that the new management would focus on “the further development, expansion and modernisation of the airport”.   Budapest Airport was privatised in December 2005, when Britain’s BAA bought the airport. However, Spain’s Ferrioval took over the British company and sold Budapest Airport to the consortium for EUR 1.9 billion.

“We are very proud of acquiring Hungary’s unique national asset,” said Dr. Reinhard Kalenda, the new CEO of Budapest Airport. “We have long sought to acquire a stake in this airport because there is great potential.”
Kalenda is the CEO of HOCHTIEF AirPort, and is assuming the position of CEO of Budapest Airport on an interim basis.
The airport is one of the busiest in Central and Eastern Europe, and recently announced it had handled over 700,000 passengers in April, a 4.6% increase on the previous year. Low cost airline Ryan Air also recently announced it would begin flying to Ferihegy from England, boosting the chances of increased passenger flow.