Auction of Congonhas Airport and 14 Other Terminals Took Place This Thursday, 18, During the 7th Round of the Airport Concessions Program

The Auction Of Airports, Including Congonhas, Took Place At 2 PM And The Investment Forecast Is About R$ 7.3 Billion

The Congonhas Airport and 14 other airports were taken to an auction this Thursday, 18, during the 7th round of the airport concession program, held by Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency).

The auction took place at 2 PM at B3 and was divided into three blocks. The 15 airports, including Congonhas, together account for about 15.8% of Brazil’s passenger traffic and will be granted to the private sector for a period of 30 years. The investment forecast over the period is about R$ 7.3 billion.

The interest in the auction for the three blocks was validated by the Minister of Infrastructure, Marcelo Sampaio, via social media. “We continue to work without optimism or pessimism, but making it happen and ensuring the advancement of the country’s infrastructure. On August 18, we will be hammering down at B3, auctioning off 15 airports from the 3 blocks of the 7th round,” said the minister.

In addition to Congonhas Airport, the airports of Campo de Marte in São Paulo (SP), Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), among others, were also part of the auction.

According to Anac, between 2011 and 2021, the airport auction program in Brazil granted the equivalent of 75.82% of the traffic in the country to the private sector. After this 7th round of concessions, the percentage will rise to 91.6% of the passengers served at private airports.

Airport Auction Was Divided Into Three Blocks

Divided into three blocks, the auction granted terminals located in six Brazilian states. They are: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Pará, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Amapá. Below is the division:

• Block SP-MS-PA-MG – Headlined by Congonhas Airport (SP), the block also consists of Campo Grande, Corumbá, and Ponta Porã airports in Mato Grosso do Sul (MS); Santarém, Marabá, Parauapebas, and Altamira in Pará (PA); Uberlândia, Uberaba, and Montes Claros in Minas Gerais (MG). The minimum initial bid is R$ 740.1 million.

• General Aviation Block – Comprises Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo (SP) and Jacarepaguá Airport in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), with a minimum initial bid of R$ 141.4 million.

• North II Block – Consists of Belém (PA) and Macapá (AP) airports, with a minimum initial bid of R$ 56.9 million.

The company that acquired Congonhas Airport in the auction will also be responsible for managing 10 other terminals. They are: Corumbá, Campo Grande, and Ponta Porã in Mato Grosso do Sul; Carajás, Santarém, Marabá, and Altamira in Pará; and Uberlândia, Uberaba, and Montes Claros in Minas Gerais.

The second block of airports includes terminals for small aircraft, such as Campo de Marte and Jacarepaguá. The third block offered two airports in capitals of the Northern region of the country, in Belém (PA) and Macapá (AP).

Expectations With The Airport Auction

In June of this year, the federal government declared that it expected to reach the end of 2022 with 50 terminals auctioned for private sector management. If this forecast is realized, R$ 18 billion in private investments will be contracted.

This second semester was also expected to see the auction of Santos Dumont Airport and the relicitation of Galeão. However, after disagreements with the government of Rio de Janeiro, the projects were postponed to 2023.

The initial plan was for the bidding of Santos Dumont to occur alongside that of Congonhas Airport, but it was auctioned in conjunction with Galeão Airport. Thus, the winning company will manage both assets in Rio.