Panel SA: Electronic retail giants rival for Viracopos

Alibaba, Amazon, Mercado Livre, Fedex and even the Postal Service have returned to talks with members of the government interested in winning the Viracopos airport, in Campinas (SP). The interest of foreigners in the place is to transform it into the largest cargo terminal in Latin America.

After the old concessionaires returned the contract two years ago, the government decided to put it back to the private sector.

Viracopos was granted in 2012 to Aeroportos Brasil, formed by Infraero, by the construction companies UTC and Triunfo and by the French company Egis. The concessionaire filed for bankruptcy in 2018. In addition to the economic crisis, the concession suffered from the reduction in passenger movement caused by the pandemic.

In December 2020, the recovery process was terminated at the request of the company itself, a step taken to allow the re-bidding process.

The airport then began to register strong growth in cargo transport, particularly e-commerce, which rekindled the appetite of foreign groups.

In 2021, for the first time since its concession, Viracopos made a profit. According to the figures released, gross revenue was BRL 1.1 billion, almost 30% above the previous year, with a net profit for the year of BRL 276 million, reversing the loss of BRL 322 million in 2020, according to the company.

According to the Secretariat of Civil Aviation, cargo movement, which was 600 thousand tons per year in 2018, has already increased to 1.5 million tons – rivaling Guarulhos (SP), the largest gateway for trade by air.

Julio Wiziack (interim) with Paulo Ricardo Martins and Diego Felix