Spanish company Aena, responsible for winning the concession of Congonhas Airport in São Paulo and ten other Brazilian airports, signed the contract on Tuesday, 28, to start its activities.
The company had to offer R$2.4 billion (US$460 million) to win the auction of the terminals and will manage the airports for 30 years.
R$5.8 billion (US$1.12 billion) in investments are expected.
The National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) must verify the contract’s validity.
If no irregularities are found, it will start the transition process for the airport operators.
Aena is expected to start operating the terminals as of July this year.
The company also has 15 days from signing the contract to deposit the federal grant – the amount paid for the use of the infrastructure.
So far, the concessionaire has already paid the Voluntary Layoff Plan (PDV) to Infraero, the state-owned company that managed the airports, for about R$800 million.
It has also produced feasibility studies valued at R$25 million (US$4.83 million).
There are also US$580,000 in expenses with the Brazilian Stock Exchange (B3) auction.
CONCESSION OF CONGONHAS AND OTHER AIRPORTS
The seventh round of Anac’s airport concessions program was held in August last year.
The 15 airports were auctioned in a public ceremony at B3.
The airports were divided into three blocks, and the first one, which included Congonhas and ten other terminals, was won by the Spanish group Aena.
The Spanish group already operates six airports in the Northeast: the international terminals of Recife, Maceió, João Pessoa, and Aracaju, and the airports of Juazeiro do Norte (Ceará) and Campina Grande (Paraíba).
The block acquired by the Spanish group includes Campo Grande, Corumbá, and Ponta Porã, in Mato Grosso do Sul; Santarém, Marabá, Parauapebas, and Altamira, in Pará; and Uberlândia, Uberaba and Montes Claros, in Minas Gerais.
With information from Revista Oeste