Aena was awarded the contract to manage 11 airports in Brazil, including Congonhas-São Paulo, in a public auction this Thursday worth 2,450 million Brazilian reais, about 468 million euros. In addition to this amount, according to the concession regulations, 1,639 million Brazilian reais (in return approximately 312 million euros) must be paid out as obligatory commitments, for which the total amount of the operation is 4,089 million Brazilian reais, approximately 780 million euros.
The group of 11 airports handled a total of 26.8 million passengers in 2019, 12% of the country’s air traffic that year. Congonhas Airport is the busiest of the group, with 22.8 million passengers per year, and the second busiest in Brazil. These are the airports of Congonhas, Campo Grande, Uberlândia, Santarém, Marabá, Montes Claros, Carajás, Altamira, Uberaba, Corumbá and Ponta Porã.
The management of these eleven airports entails an obligation to pay variable consideration, with a four-year grace period, consisting of a percentage of gross revenue that increases from 3.23% to 16.15% per annum. According to the planning and the studies carried out on the necessary investments, an investment of almost 5,000 million Brazilian Reais (constant prices of 2020) is expected, of which 73% is expected to be made in the first phase of the concession, ie by 2028.
License for 30 years
Contract signing is scheduled for February 2023 and the concession period is 30 years with the possibility of an additional five years, demonstrating Aena’s long-term commitment to Brazil. This is the largest international operation to date by the Spanish airport operator, which is 51% state-owned.
Aena Brasil already manages 100% of six airports in the Northeast region. It will now operate a network of 17 airports in Brazil and manage the country’s largest network of chartered airports. The company is also present in the United Kingdom, where it manages 51% of London Luton Airport, and at airports in Mexico, Colombia and Jamaica
“Despite the difficult times we have been going through due to Covid-19, and always with the priority to create value for public and private shareholders and employees, we are convinced that the internationalization of Aena is a guarantee for the future. Brazil’s potential is undisputed. Domestic traffic, for example, is 100% restored,” noted Aena President Maurici Lucena in a statement.