Rio prepares study to connect airports by ferries

​The dispute over passengers at Santos Dumont and Tom Jobim (Galeão) airports has mobilized efforts in different directions by the government of Rio de Janeiro.

While the State Department of Tourism is carrying out a study to propose the connection between the airports via Guanabara Bay with ferry services, the Civil House is concentrating the work for the joint concession of the terminals to take place in 2023.

The portfolio’s tourist interest project considers involving Barcas S/A, a state concessionaire, and using the existing stations in Praça XV, downtown, and in Cocotá, in the Ilha do Governador neighborhood, to create the Santos ferry line. Dumont-Galeão.

The intention is to allow displacements of around 20 minutes, without facing the traffic flow of the Red Line. Today, the average time between Praça XV and Cocotá is 55 minutes, with three round trips per day only during the week.

“The waterway connection, which already exists, including piers, will be made between the two airports. We are in the preliminary study to then turn it into a project, see the legal part and then the concession of this line. tourist in a noble environment of the city, which is the Guanabara Bay”, said the State Secretary of Tourism, Sávio Neves, during an event of ACRJ (Commercial Association of Rio de Janeiro).

The study is still in its preliminary stages, but the advantages of the service have been widely defended by the secretary at events.

In a note, the ministry informed that after “the conclusion of the study of tourist interest, still without a deadline, and after the feasibility report, establish an integrated action with the Secretary of State for Transport and other institutions involved”.

When contacted, CCR Barcas, which currently operates the waterway service, said it was unaware of the ministry’s initiative.

The CCR Group company took control of Concessionária Barcas S/A in July 2012 through the acquisition of 80% of the shares. The Barcas concessionaire has a contract with the state until 2023.

The issue of interconnection between the two terminals gained visibility again last year, in the midst of discussions about the privatization of Santos Dumont.

The construction of a subway or tram line (Light Rail Vehicle) connecting a central point of Rio to Galeão, as a way of trying to avoid the emptying of the international airport, was even considered by the then deputy executive secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Felipe Queiroz.

The idea would be to carry out the project with cross-investment between the federal and state government, using funds from the SDU grant – then scheduled to take place in the 7th round of concessions, scheduled for August 18th.

The service would be a way to make Tom Jobim competitive without necessarily having to limit the number of flights and destinations from Santos Dumont.

With the separation of the SDU from the other airport blocks, the discussion did not advance.

In the assessment of the Civil House of Rio, aspects related to infrastructure are important, however, secondary to make airports attractive to the private sector.

“The discussion of modes is ancillary to the main point that is the vocation of each airport, how they complement each other and the importance they have for the economy. The issue of access by ferry or subway is not a decisive point to guarantee balance and viability of airports, although it may be important in the future, but in a complementary way”, evaluates the Secretary of the Civil House, Nicola Miccione.

For him, the model for the concession of the new public notice for the auction of the block, composed of the two airports, needs to guarantee that individual vocations are respected, without overlapping of competences. The outcome of the fate of the terminals should be faster than initially anticipated.

Not only the bidding, but also the signing of the contract for the joint concession should still take place in 2023, according to Miccione.

According to Rio’s management, the federal government is in the process of hiring the consultancy responsible for proposing the concession model.

“The state sees the need for the International Airport’s vocation to be respected without prejudice to a complementarity of the SDU”, said Miccione. “This also requires looking at Santos Dumont without overestimating its technical capacity. The issues need to be dealt with in a technical way so that artificiality is not created”.