Zurich Airport assumes São Gonçalo do Amarante concession

Zurich Airport signed the 30-year concession contract for São Gonçalo do Amarante airport in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Norte state.

The company won the May 19 auction, offering 320mn reais (US$65mn), defeating a bid by XP Investimentos-led consortium NK 230 Empreendimentos.

The auction marked the first time a concession was reoffered, suggesting reoffering will be used more often. Inframérica won the original 30-year contract in 2011, but started the return process in March 2020, claiming projections were not met. Companies may return concessions, but the process involves analysis of whether a party must pay compensation.

Part of the fee Zurich paid will be used to compensate Inframérica for the investments it made during the first five years and which were mandated under the contract, airport regulator Anac said in a statement.

"The federal government will pay the difference between the amount offered by the proponent and the compensation to be paid. Subsequently, the concessionaire winning the auction will pay the initial contribution to the concessionaire that will leave the concession. After this process, the contract will be effective and the operational transition at the airport will begin," Anac said.

A ports and airports ministry spokesperson told BNamericas that Zurich Airport’s contract mandates investments of 288mn reais for maintenance during the concession period, but expansions are not planned.

In Brazil, Zurich Airport currently holds 30-year concessions for airports Florianópolis, Macaé and Victoria. In Belo Horizonte, the Swiss group has been operating Tancredo Neves international airport jointly with CCR and Infraero since 2014.