Brazil eyeing new airport in São Paulo

The Brazilian government is in talks with private sector firms regarding a plan to construct a new airport in São Paulo state.

The new airport is likely to be located between Cajamar and Caieiras on land belonging to infrastructure firm CCR.

"We’ve already held some meetings with CCR to discuss the feasibility of this airport, since the company controls 80% of the land where the airport would be built," ports and airports minister Silvio Costa Filho told BNamericas. 

"CCR is currently in talks with other private operators, and we’re now evaluating the model for the construction project. In the next 8-10 years, São Paulo will need a new airport and a decision needs to be taken soon since construction of this type takes around six years," added Costa Filho, who did not provide an estimate for investment nor a date for a decision.

CONGONHAS 

According to the minister, in the coming days, Spain's Aena, which operates one of Brazil's busiest airports, Congonhas in São Paulo city, will announce details of new investments totaling 2bn reais (US$406mn) to improve the facility.

"We talked to Aena and expressed concerns about the condition of the infrastructure of Congonhas, which is one of the main airports in the country. They understood the situation and now, on March 18, they will provide details of the investment plan for the airport totaling 2bn reais. The idea is to improve everything from the airport access to the runway, the lighting and the terminals," said Costa Filho.

São Paulo and Brazil’s busiest airport is Guarulhos.

RIO DE JANEIRO 

Meanwhile, the government is no longer considering, at least in the short term, offering a concession or PPP contract for Rio de Janeiro airports Santos Dumont and Galeão.

"We are currently improving these two airports. The operator of Galeão is almost 50% held by [state firm] Infraero, while Santos Dumont is 100% operated by Infraero, and we’re not going to do any PPP or concession contract for the time being," said Costa Filho.

Galeão is mainly used for international flights and is operated by RIOgaleão, a joint venture between Singapore's Changi Airport Group and Infraero. Santos Dumont is a domestic airport.

"Galeão saw an increase in passenger numbers to 14mn [last year] from 7mn, and we’re in this phase of better structuring these two airports so that, in the future, we can evaluate another model for both," added the minister. 

The plans for the two airports are being observed closely by stakeholders as they are the last major airport assets not yet offered to private sector companies. Currently, around 95% of all large airports in Brazil are in the hands of the private sector.

During the administration of former president Jair Bolsonaro, between 2019 and 2022, the government planned to offer Galeão and Santos Dumont in a single concession, but that never happened as the industry was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and Galeão was also facing low passenger demand due to competition from Santos Dumont.

PANDEMIC IMPACT 

The airline sector was one of those most affected by the pandemic following the adoption of social distancing measures and the spread of home working. 

The sector has been recovering slowly, but airlines are still facing the effects of the health crisis as well as increased operating costs.

"Aviation is a public service and is essential to Brazil's development. While the US government provided a financial package of US$50bn, Germany US$20bn and France US$15bn to help airlines during and after the pandemic, the previous government in Brazil didn't offer any support," said Costa Filho.

According to the minister, during March the government will announce details of a fund of between 4bn reais and 6bn reais to support airlines.

The main airlines operating in Brazil are Gol, Latam and Azul. In 2022, passenger numbers at the country’s airports totaled 98mn and increased to 112mn last year. For this year, the minister is expecting an increase of up to 10%. 

PORTS 

As for ports, the official said public investment is likely to reach 2bn reais in 2024 compared with 408mn reais in 2023. 

"In 2024 our expectation is to reach 2bn reais in public investments, such as dredging, improvements to docks and other structures at public ports," said Costa Filho.

In terms of private sector investment in ports, the minister projects 10.6bn reais this year, up from 10.2bn reais in 2023. 

According to the official, plans to offer leasing contacts for port terminals in the coming years remain in place and in 2024 those due to be awarded will involve new investments of 14.5bn reais during the length of the contracts. 

WATERWAYS 

The government also intends to stimulate the expansion of waterways for cargo transportation.

"Brazil currently has 18,000km of navigable waterways and we have the capacity to reach up to 42,000km," said Costa Filho.

The government is currently evaluating the structuring of five concession contracts for waterways.