Uruguay advances in international airport system

The Uruguayan government today granted Aeropuertos Uruguay, part of Corporación América Airports, the management of Paysandú airport (390 kilometers northwest of Montevideo) as part of the development of an international airport system.

Aeropuertos Uruguay will initially invest US$10 million to modernize the Paysandú airport, work to be completed in 2024, and another US$70 million over the next 30 years.

“The stage of Paysandú connected to the world begins, which adds to the tourist and educational investments that the department will have”, said the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado, in the act celebrated in that city of the Uruguayan coast.

The remodeling may generate up to 150 direct jobs and includes the construction of a modern passenger terminal, renovation of the airport infrastructure, and a new fuel plant.

Delgado said that one of the greatest challenges for developing a logistics, innovation, and tourism center in the region is to have international air connectivity.

This work is linked to the road infrastructure plan promoted by the government of President Luis Lacalle Pou, which foresees an investment of US$3.5 billion.

“The bill for the national system of international airports, voted unanimously by parliament, has much to do with thinking of the country as integrated, decentralized, and connected to the world,” he said.

The Minister of Defense, Javier García, underlined that this is the fifth airport whose management is transferred to private companies within the framework of this airport system.

The international airport system includes Carrasco (Montevideo), Laguna del Sauce (Punta del Este), Carmelo, Rivera, Salto, Melo, and Durazno airports.

The remodeling goal is to bring the Paysandú airport up to the international standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization regulations, García emphasized.