TRANSPORT Minister Pavol Prokopovič confirmed that 66 percent stakes in two of Slovakia's largest airports in Bratislava and Košice will go to the TwoOne consortium comprising Vienna Airport, the Austrian Raiffeisen Zentralbank and the Slovak financial group Penta Investments.
If the cabinet approves TwoOne as the winner of the tender, another airport tender bidder, the ISAP consortium, has indicated that it may file a lawsuit in the case.
The airport tender has been plagued since the beginning by leaks of information on the bidders and their bids, and allegations that TwoOne had the inside track despite having submitted what one advisor termed the weakest business plan for the facilities.
Fears have been raised that if Vienna Airport wins the tender, it will turn the growing Bratislava terminal into a hub for cargo transport and less attractive flights.
Deputy Transport Minister Ján Kotuľa has said he favours a different investor, as does his mother party, the ruling Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), the SME daily reported.
A second ruling coalition party, the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), has not expressed a clear stance on the issue, while PM Mikuláš Dzurinda says he sees no reason why his Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), which controls the Transport Ministry, should deal with the privatization.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
TheSlovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the informationpresented in its Flash News postings.
