SOFIA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A consortium of China's HNA Airport Group and Netherlands-registered Plovdiv Airport Invest won a concession to operate Plovdiv Airport for a period of 35 years, the Bulgarian government said Wednesday.

During the concession period, the concessionaire will have to invest about 79.08 million euros (98 million U.S. dollars) for the repair, maintenance and rehabilitation of the existing infrastructure at the airport, as well as the construction of new facilities, the government said in a statement.

After a grace period of 48 months, the concessionaire will have to pay each year 600,000 BGN (380,000 dollars) excluding VAT and 6 percent of its total net revenue from all activities related to the use of Plovdiv airport during the year, the statement said.

HNA Airport Group currently has 13 airports under its management and cooperation projects.

Plovdiv Airport, which is located some 160 km southeast of Sofia, is the fourth busiest airport in the Balkan country.?