Two offers for Sava Centre – Deadline extended

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Potential investors have a further 15 days to submit their documents for a partnership with Belgrade City for the Sava Centre, as the deadline has been extended, writes the daily Blic.

The deadline was extended on a request from one of the bidders so he could complete his preparation, says Dragutin Nenezić, Deputy Chief for Investment and Habitation of the Mayor's Cabinet to the paper.

“For now there are definitely two bidders, but we have reason to believe that a third will arrive”, said Nenezić.

The congress centre has been valued at some €108m. Delta holding and Airport Nikola Tesla have already shown interest, and there are speculations that precisely these two bidders are being referred to, writes Blic.

Belgrade City announced in October that the Sava Centre would seek partners, as there is no other way for this public company to tackle its losses. They intend to found a company together with a partner, in which the City would invest the buildings and land, while the partner would provide the capital for reconstruction of the buildings and professional management. The City would retain a 51% majority.

The Sava Centre has seen no investment for 40 years, and its reconstruction is estimated as requiring between 15 and 20 million euros. The partner would bear the full cost, without the right to use the buildings as collateral to raise the money, writes Blic.

Translation provided by: www.halifax-translation.com