Galeão owner signs document for airport re-bidding

The concessionaire RIOgaleão said this Monday (14) that it signed “with reservations” an amendment to the concession contract for Galeão airport, in Rio de Janeiro.

The signature was a necessary step to advance the terminal’s re-bidding and needed to be done by this Monday. Without it, the request for the return of the concession, announced in February by the company, would lose its effects.

The re-bidding process was marked in recent days by disagreements between RIOgaleão and Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency).

For not agreeing with part of the proposal for an amendment approved by the agency, the company came to trigger the Federal Court, but had a request for an injunction denied on Friday (11).

Despite the confirmation of the signature, the concessionaire signaled dissatisfaction with the outcome of the negotiations.

“RIOgaleão clarifies that it signed –with reservations– the Addendum for the re-bidding of the Rio de Janeiro International Airport, this Monday (11/14). decree nº 11.171/2022”, said the company.

“The reservations were forwarded to the Investment Partnership Program Council (CPPI), Ministry of Infrastructure, Special Secretariat for the Investment Partnership Program, National Civil Aviation Secretariat (SAC) and Infraero,” he added.

Controlled by Changi, from Singapore, RIOgaleão has associated return of the carioca terminal in February to the difficulties generated by the economic crisis that hit Brazil in recent years.

The company’s intention is to transfer the management of the asset to a new operator, which would take over after an auction is held.

The amendment signed on Monday must indicate the company’s commitments to the airport until the arrival of a new administrator, in addition to defining the bases for the indemnity to be paid, taking into account the granting discharge and the investments made by the concessionaire.

On Tuesday (8), Anac’s board approved the amendment proposal based on the original grant payment schedule, signed in 2014, the initial year of the Galeão concession.

This point, however, was contested by RIOgaleão. For the concessionaire, Anac should take into account an agreement signed in 2017.

At the time, the company was authorized to reschedule the original schedule of the grant installments. By anticipating payments from 2017 and 2018 to the government, it managed to postpone the following transfers, from 2019 to 2022.

The rescheduling generated a momentary relief for the dealership’s cash. With the return to the original schedule, the fear for the company is to go out of business with the damages impacted.

Anac’s board, on the other hand, understood that RIOgaleão’s request could create a gap for other companies to seek renegotiation of their schedules and, later, re-bidding.

“RIOgaleão reiterates that it considers the inclusion of clauses that ignore the legality and validity of the payment schedule of the current contract, signed with Anac in 2017, after large anticipation of granting to the federal government to be abusive and illegitimate,” said the concessionaire on Monday. .

The company says it anticipated around R$ 2.5 billion at the time. “Since the beginning of the concession, in 2014, all obligations and investments foreseen in the concession contract have been delivered by RIOgaleão and certified by Anac”, he added.

The Ministry of Infrastructure’s plan is to negotiate the terminal together with Santos Dumont airport, which is also located in Rio and is managed by Infraero. The same buyer could take both assets.

The ministry even projected the auction for 2023. Analysts, however, consider the deadline to be tight, even more so with the change of government.

Galeão International Airport is located on Ilha do Governador. It was planned to receive large aircraft and also plays an important role in cargo transportation in Rio. However, it has been going through a process of emptying in recent years.

“RIOgaleão will follow the commitment to act for the commercial and operational evolution of the Tom Jobim International Airport until a new operator is defined”, said the concessionaire this Monday.