Changi will return Galeão airport to the Union, which led the Minister of Infrastructure to announce the postponement of the Santos Dumont auction

On Thursday, the 10th, it was announced by the Minister of Infrastructure, Tarcísio de Freitas, that the auction for Santos Dumont Airport will probably take place only in the second half of next year, together with that for Tom Jobim International Airport (Galeão).

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The company Changi, from Singapore, which manages RIOGaleão, took the decision to return the airport concession to the Union, through formalization with the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac). 

The Santos Dumont airport auction was expected to take place in the seventh round of airport concessions. According to G1 Rio, now the auction will take place in the eighth round.

“The 7th round was already proceeding autonomously, with Santos Dumont isolated. This movement by Changi generates another conduct for us. With the return, it makes no sense for Santos Dumont to be isolated. We are going to study the two airports together”, stated Tarcísio.

With the Galeão airport expected to be emptied, the Santos Dumont auction has provoked criticism from businessmen and authorities, mainly from the City Hall of Rio and the State Government, since it would cause damage to the city and the state.

“This is something very interesting that, in this modeling, we will be able to consider the two airports together. Change what was being thought. And we quickly adapted to that. The devolution solves a series of questions and removes a series of concerns”, adds the minister.

For the governor of RJ, Cláudio Castro (PL), the return of the airport would be a great opportunity to re-bid with the Santos Dumont auction, as he published on a social network: “We will work to value the two airports and build the best result the state,” he wrote.

In addition, Castro also stated that there has already been guidance to the Working Group that analyzes the modeling so that it finds a way to ensure that the choice of Changi “is an instrument for the recovery of the airport system in RJ”.

Alerj president's review

PT deputy André Ceciliano, president of the Legislative Assembly (Alerj), clarified in a note that the disclosure of the return of the Galeão concession “is terrible for the image of Brazil, for the economy of Rio de Janeiro, and yet another result of the lack of coordination that exists in the airport infrastructure of the Southeast region, especially in Rio de Janeiro”.

Ceciliano also added: “Here, autophagy allied to the crisis, of Covid, made the operation of Galeão unfeasible, today uninteresting even for large international investors. Receiving the news that the group that operates the airport considered the most modern in the world, the one in Singapore, is terrible for those who want to invest in infrastructure in Brazil”.

“For me, who has always struggled to balance the operation of the terminals in the Center and on the Island, it is obvious that, with this announcement, the Santos Dumont tender must be immediately suspended to discuss a new model for Rio de Janeiro that make operations at Galeão International Airport viable, not only in terms of passengers, but also in terms of cargo handling and aircraft maintenance,” he concluded.

Compensation to Galeão airport concessionaires

As explained by Tarcísio de Freitas, Changi and Infraero must be compensated by the Government. However, there is the possibility that the Union assumes the payment or that the new concessionaire, selected by the grant paid annually, does this.

The national secretary of Civil Aviation, Ronei Saggioro, explained that Infraero should also be compensated for the reason that the public company is a minority shareholder of Changi in Galeão, holding 49% of the concession.

“The special purpose company is 51% owned by Changi, and 49% owned by Infraero. So, Infraero is a minority in this process, but it jointly adheres, through the concessionaire, to the rebidding, and it will be entitled to compensation in proportion to its participation”, he said. According to Saggioro, the calculations regarding compensation will be carried out and the payment will be proportional to the percentage of participation. “This is how the mechanism that we have been applying at other airports works as well”, concluded the secretary.