Chișinău airport extends auction for leasing commercial spaces
Chișinău International Airport has extended the auction for leasing commercial spaces within the terminal.
This decision follows the submission of documents by a single company—Lagardere Travel Retail—to participate in the auction.
The deadline for submitting documents, initially set to expire today, has been extended until September 28.
The airport has announced that the submitted files will be re-examined on September 30 of this year. The auction for leasing commercial spaces within the airport is expected to take place on October 1.
It should be noted that two previous auctions for the leasing of commercial spaces at Chișinău Airport have failed. In both instances, the French company Lagardere participated, and both auctions came under the scrutiny of law enforcement authorities. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the matter but, on May 17, prosecutors decided to cease criminal prosecution in this case.
On May 29, the Public Property Agency launched a third auction for the lease of commercial spaces at Chișinău International Airport. Once again, Lagardere participated, but one month later, the auction was put on hold. The auction was later resumed after authorities added the airport to the list of non-privatized assets.
It should be recalled that authorities have previously accused the “Șor criminal group” of sabotaging, and continuing to sabotage, the leasing process for duty-free spaces within Chișinău International Airport. Șor, who is currently evading justice in Russia, has not commented on the accusations.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
