Major Brazil airports set to receive US$600mn in investments

Two of Brazil’s busiest airports, São Paulo state’s Guarulhos and Congonhas, are likely to receive fresh investments of up to 3.4bn reais (US$596mn).

The country's largest airport, Guarulhos, will receive up to 1.4bn reais. Guarulhos is operated under a concession held by GRU Airport, which is 51% owned by GRUPar (80% local firm Invepar and 20% Airports Company South Africa) and 49% by Brazilian airport authority Infraero.

The investment will be made after the country's audit court TCU authorized the extension of the concession contract.

"The proposal approved by the TCU justices extends the concession period for the site until November 2033, allowing the company to operate 16 months beyond what was initially planned. On the other hand, between 2025 and 2029, new investments must be made to increase operating capacity, increase the level of security (operational and against acts of unlawful interference) and improve the quality of the services offered," the TCU said in a statement.

GRU Airport will build two concourses, one for international passengers and the other for domestic passengers, expand aircraft aprons and create taxiways. It will also acquire equipment for checking luggage and on-board baggage and perimeter surveillance, as well as improvements in employee access based on biometrics, among other things, added the TCU. 

The concessionaire took over operations in 2012 and the original concession contract was due to expire in July 2032. However, with the need to make new investments, the concessionaire requested the extension of the concession contract as compensation.

More than 90% of air passengers in Brazil pass through airports operated by private sector firms under concessions.

CONGONHAS

Meanwhile, Spain’s Aena, which operates 17 airports in Brazil, will invest up to 2bn reais in Congonhas.

"Aena's investment plan for one of the country's main airport terminals includes complex works necessary to accommodate the projected increase in tourists. The expectation is that, in the coming years, the [Congonhas] terminal will receive a third more travelers than it receives today, going from 22mn, according to data released by the national civil aviation agency (Anac) last year, to 29.5mn," the ports and airports ministry (MPOR) said in a statement.

"Scheduled for completion in 2028, the new Congonhas airport will have its departures and arrivals area expanded, reaching 105,000m². It will also have a new check-in hall with 72 spacious and accessible positions, with up to 108 in total, and a new concourse 36m wide and 330m long," it added.

MORE CONCESSIONS 

With the largest and most profitable airports already managed by private sector companies, the government is advancing an initiative to offer concessions for smaller regional airports.

The TCU approved a government proposal to offer regional airport concessions to companies that already operate larger airports. 

Under this model, the companies would have the concessions for the larger terminals extended in return for making investments in the smaller airports. 

"The simplified selection process must be carried out in different rounds. In the first, MPOR intends to prioritize areas of strategic importance in the Amazon, such as the airports of São Gabriel da Cachoeira (SBUA) and Eirunepé (SWEI), and, in the northeast region Guanambi airport (SNGI) in Bahia," said the TCU.

The blocks prioritized for the first round involve around 2.1bn reais in investments. In total, there are around 100 regional airports with potential to be offered under this format.

PASSENGER NUMBERS 

The investments in the sector are coming amid a recovery in traffic, which was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21.

In September, the number of passengers passing through Brazilian airports was the highest for the month since the present methodology was introduced in 2000. 

During last month, there were around 10mn passengers, of which 7.9mn were domestic and more than 2mn international, up 5.7% compared with the total in September 2023, according to Anac.