RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Pledging to expand regional aviation from 2019 to the end of 2021, investments of the Ministry of Infrastructure (MINFRA) in the sector will reach almost R$1 billion (more than US$180 million) in air navigation equipment, reform and construction of new airports, in the five regions of the country.
The Ministry says the resources directed through the National Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SAC) and the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (INFRAERO) will cover 112 municipalities.
The goal is to increase connectivity and enable the expansion of the supply of flights in all 27 states. “The federal government is making a major transformation in the airline sector possible, by improving infrastructure, the business environment, and reducing bureaucracy, and seeking to expand in Brazil’s interior,” said Marcelo Sampaio, MINFRA’s executive secretary.
Goal
The government’s goal is to reach the year 2025 with 200 cities offering regular flights. In 2019, there were 128 Brazilian airports operating on a regular scheduled basis, according to the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC). Starting in 2020, the pandemic affected the supply of flights.
Only 96 locations are currently being served, due to the restrictions and the drop in demand. With the decrease in the flow of passengers, MINFRA has sought to accelerate renovation and expansion works in different airports.
“We have the urgent and global challenge to overcome the pandemic and, in a second moment, to resume the growth of aviation in our country,” says the national secretary of Civil Aviation of MINFRA, Ronei Glanzmann.
Part of the strategy, recalls the secretary, depends on appropriate equipment and infrastructure modernization works. Therefore, the order in the ministry is to focus on the work to allow, after overcoming the health challenges, that more and more Brazilians have access to air transport.
Amazon
The Amazon region, with many isolated municipalities and without road links, is the priority. Since 2019, about R$200 million is being allocated for works and acquisition of equipment in 25 airports, located in the interior of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Pará states.
Furthermore, a public-private partnership (PPP) is being structured to qualify eight airports in Amazonas (Parintins, Carauari, Coari, Eirunepé, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Barcelos, Lábrea and Maués), which should receive R$380 million in investments starting in 2022.
The model will be a sponsored concession, providing for the expansion, maintenance, and operation of the airports by a private manager, with the aim of improving the infrastructure and service provision. This PPP model should also be replicated for other states in the North.
Source: Agência Brasil