The Slovenian-based Chinese company SHS Aviation presented its long-term plans for Slovenia's second largest airport only an hour and a half after a 15-year lease contract for the state-owned airport infrastructure was signed with Infrastructure Minister Peter Gašperšič.

Addressing the press in Maribor together with Mayor of Maribor Andrej Fištravec, SHS Aviation director Pang Siu Yin said one of the routes would be to China.

While Aerodrom Maribor's new owners initially committed to generating 1.54 million passengers and 82,000 tonnes of cargo transport in the next five years as well as investing around EUR 139m into the airport, they presented even more ambitious plans today.

Pang said the company, which has its own fleet at Belgium's VLM airlines, plans to invest at least EUR 300m in the airport, build new terminals, hotels and a shopping mall.

Apart from boosting the passenger and freight transport to two million passengers and 160,000 tonnes of cargo by 2028, the new investors also plan to set up a simulation and maintenance centre.

In line with the city of Maribor's plans for promoting circular economy, they are also to set up a centre for aircraft decommissioning.

Turning to short-term plans, Pang announced flights to London, Berlin, Hamburg, Barcelona, Zurich, Belgrade, Split and Podgorica on the one hand and Chinese cities of Xian, Chongqing and Nanchang on the other.

According to him, opening these routes this year will be possible without extending the existing 2,800-metre runway. But after the runway extension to 3,300 metres and later to 3,800 metres, Slovenia's second largest city is to be linked to other Asian countries.

The company's Belgian airline has six Fokker 50 plans, but the Chinese plan to purchase another six A320 and fifteen A330 planes, which are to be registered in Slovenia.

Pang said transport would be launched after the company obtained an air operator's certificate in Belgium and Slovenia, which should happen in May or June.

He highlighted the need for support from both local and national authorities, including regarding changes to the national spatial plan that would allow for the necessary runway extensions.

Mayor Fištravec said this would turn Maribor into a "global player" and an "Asia specialist". "The minister spoke of a very optimistic project today, but I say it is a realistic one."

SHS Aviation bought Aerodrom Maribor for EUR 7m last December and took over the management of the airport for the next 15 years today for EUR 95,000 a month (VAT excluded) with the option of a five-year extension.

The sale was carried out through Rim Projekt, which is to get EUR 3m from SHS Aviation now that the long-term lease contract has been signed.

Minister Gašperšič called the lease an "important day for the airport's development".

"With its location, Edvard Rusjan Maribor Airport undoubtedly has the potential to become an important logistical hub and the arrival of important investors such as company Magna in its proximity will surely contribute to this," he said in a reference to the planned production facility of the Austrian automotive giant.