How Brazil Built Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo: It's the Largest Airport in Latin America

How Brazil Built Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo: It’s the Largest Airport in Latin America

Written by Bruno Teles

Published on 08/01/2024 at 18:12

Updated on 08/01/2024 at 18:21

Foto: Divulgação/Aeroporto Internacional de Guarulhos – São Paulo

4 people reacted to this.

The International Airport of Guarulhos, in São Paulo, establishes itself as the largest airport in Latin America, with a history of expansion and modernization that reflects the growth of Brazilian aviation.

The idea of a new airport in São Paulo emerged in 1947, due to excessive traffic at Congonhas Airport, which recorded around 400 daily flights. Initially, several areas were analyzed, including Ibiuna and Calcaia do Alto, but the location in Guarulhos was chosen for offering lower expropriation costs and better strategic benefits for the construction of the International Airport of Guarulhos, now the largest airport in Latin America.

In 1976, the Minister of Aeronautics and the state government of São Paulo signed an agreement for the development of the new airport. Guarulhos was selected as the ideal location, receiving a donation of 10 km² from the São Paulo airbase for the project.

Initial Challenges and Construction

The initial works began in 1980, with the construction of a 3,000-meter runway and a terminal for 7.5 million passengers per year. The consortium Camargo Correa and Constran was responsible for the execution, facing delays and doubling the expected time for the completion of the first phase.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Privatization and Management

In 2011, the Brazilian government decided to privatize the management of the airport, with the consortium Invepar and Airports Company South Africa taking over the administration for 20 years after winning the auction with a bid of R$ 16.2 billion.

Investments and Modernization

New investments included the construction of a parking garage with 2,600 new spaces, renovations of the runways and boarding bridges, and certification for Airbus A380 operations, starting regular flights in 2017.

With a capacity for 40 million passengers per year, Guarulhos Airport became a crucial hub for air traffic in the region, reflecting the growth and modernization of Brazil’s airport infrastructure.

The International Airport of Guarulhos is an example of how Brazil overcame challenges and made significant investments to build large-scale airport infrastructure, meeting the growing demands of air transport and reinforcing its position in Latin America.

How Brazil Built Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo: It’s the Largest Airport in Latin America

The International Airport of Guarulhos, in São Paulo, establishes itself as the largest airport in Latin America, with a history of expansion and modernization that reflects the growth of Brazilian aviation.

Initial Challenges and Construction

Privatization and Management

Investments and Modernization

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

Study solves great ancient mystery: remains of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, are identified in Vergina and resolves the enigma of the Macedonian royal tombs that had lasted half a century.

Portugal installs two giant underwater sockets to draw water from the Atlantic and create a €107.9 million desalination plant in the Algarve capable of producing 43.2 million liters of potable water per day with ocean intake 2 km from the coast.

China wants to transform coal waste into a source of critical metals and use industrial ash to extract germanium, lithium, gallium, and aluminum used in batteries, chips, and electric vehicles.

The United States will spend $325 million to resurrect drones with a 40-meter wingspan, flying for 34 consecutive hours at an altitude of 18,000 meters, just to time the speed of their own Mach 5 missiles.

Family has lived for over 50 years without electricity and running water at home in the South of Minas, 10 minutes from the city, improvising light, bath, and water while facing a lack of basic resources and awaiting property regularization.

800-year-old skeletons found embracing have their impressive story revealed after DNA results

Christmas trees thrown away become a natural barrier in Alabama, where teams repurpose thousands of pines on the beaches of Gulf Shores to trap sand, rebuild dunes, and protect houses against storms and hurricanes for almost four decades.

How Brazil Built Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo: It’s the Largest Airport in Latin America

The International Airport of Guarulhos, in São Paulo, establishes itself as the largest airport in Latin America, with a history of expansion and modernization that reflects the growth of Brazilian aviation.

Initial Challenges and Construction

Privatization and Management

Investments and Modernization

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

Study solves great ancient mystery: remains of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, are identified in Vergina and resolves the enigma of the Macedonian royal tombs that had lasted half a century.

Portugal installs two giant underwater sockets to draw water from the Atlantic and create a €107.9 million desalination plant in the Algarve capable of producing 43.2 million liters of potable water per day with ocean intake 2 km from the coast.

While Brazil has been discussing the Rio-São Paulo bullet train for 30 years, India drilled 14 km of rock at an altitude of 3,000 m and in June completed the largest bi-directional road tunnel in Asia.

Disposable masks that would end up in the trash can become road base in Australia, where RMIT researchers mixed shredded PPE with recycled construction debris to create a material capable of using millions of units per kilometer of pavement.

Forget conventional asphalt: The Netherlands is already testing roads with lignin capable of replacing half of the fossil bitumen, reducing CO₂ emissions by 30%, and transforming a paper industry waste into a plant-based binder for more sustainable and resilient pavements.

A material four times lighter than steel and twice as strong has just arrived at construction sites and may permanently retire the traditional rebar, with its structures lasting more than a century without needing a single maintenance.

New York creates artificial reefs with stones, eco-friendly concrete, and oysters just a few meters from the coast to reduce waves, curb erosion, and transform hurricane defense into a $111 million living barrier after the destruction caused by Sandy.

China wants to transform coal waste into a source of critical metals and use industrial ash to extract germanium, lithium, gallium, and aluminum used in batteries, chips, and electric vehicles.

The United States will spend $325 million to resurrect drones with a 40-meter wingspan, flying for 34 consecutive hours at an altitude of 18,000 meters, just to time the speed of their own Mach 5 missiles.

Family has lived for over 50 years without electricity and running water at home in the South of Minas, 10 minutes from the city, improvising light, bath, and water while facing a lack of basic resources and awaiting property regularization.

800-year-old skeletons found embracing have their impressive story revealed after DNA results

Christmas trees thrown away become a natural barrier in Alabama, where teams repurpose thousands of pines on the beaches of Gulf Shores to trap sand, rebuild dunes, and protect houses against storms and hurricanes for almost four decades.