Aeroflot admits that completion before June 2004 is unlikely, although funding is now in place (250 words)

Published: 9/14/2001

At a recent press conference, Nikolai Kuznetsov, Aeroflot's Deputy General Director acknowledged that the chances of the Shermetyevo-3 terminal being completed by 2003 are low and that completion is unlikely to be before the first half of 2004. Some sources in Moscow think that even this may be an overly optimistic target, especially in the light of reports that no agreement has been reached between the airport and Aeroflot over which contractor should be appointed to undertake the $300m project in the first place. However, in May, Bovis Lend Lease International, the overall manager of the project on behalf of Aeroflot, clearly stated through its country manager, Peter Titus, that the design-build contractor would not be appointed until October 2001 and would be followed by specialist suppliers of the terminal's systems. Even so, there has been speculation that the company considered the 2003 deadline to be a difficult one to meet almost from inception and the primary motivation behind the schedule was to demonstrate Aeroflot's eagerness to join the Sky Team alliance, which required the terminal's completion as a requirement for entry. Financing of the project is already underway, with the announcement earlier this week of a $30m syndicated loan from a number of Western banks, secured against the airline's hard currency revenues. This is in addition to a proposed package of medium term financings, including a $60m Eurobond issue.

Article ID: 2760