The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, is going to ask the Ministry of Infrastructure to remove Minas Gerais airports from the Santos Dumont airport concession notice, as he understands that they harm Galeão.
“We are requesting a change yes [no edital], mainly on the issue of removing the two loss-making airports in Minas Gerais, which cause damage to Rio de Janeiro”, he said.
“Let’s discuss formats. I’ve already had two meetings with him [Freitas], this is the third. It’s a negotiation process,” he said. “Dialogue is 100% open, which is what matters at the moment, before the concession. Nothing can be conceded until the dialogue has been exhausted.”
The statement was given as he left the Planalto Palace, where the governor had an audience with President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy).
He then had a meeting with the Minister of Infrastructure, Tarcísio de Freitas. At the meeting, it was agreed that the ministry would form a working group (WG) to discuss the public notice, with the presence of members of the federal and state governments, as well as representatives of the productive sector and the consortium hired to prepare the studies for the public notice.
According to the ministry, the GT will have a period of 30 days, starting on January 19, to “evaluate any adjustments”.
Castro was accompanied by Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), who, the day before, filed against the public notice in the TCU (Union Court of Auditors).
“Let’s see if we can get this review of the Rio de Janeiro-Minas Gerais block, to achieve what Rio de Janeiro wants, for the proper functioning of the multi-airport system (Galeão and Santos Dumont). In this aspect, the working group is positive”, said the parliamentarian.
The approval of the public notice by Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency), in December last year, caused a stir in the political world of Rio.
The inclusion of three Minas Gerais airports in the public notice was also questioned by Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD).
On the 5th, he suggested that the inclusion of these airports would have been done to favor the current operator of Confins, the CCR group. He asked for an investigation by the TCU and the Public Ministry.
Another fear pointed out by state politicians is that investments made in Santos Dumont will make the operation of Galeão international airport unfeasible, important for cargo logistics in the state and generator of 17,000 direct and indirect jobs.
In a video released on social media on the 10th, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) came out in defense of the federal government’s public notice.
The president’s son said that the allegation that the project harms Galeão international airport is false.
According to the senator, Galeão and Santos Dumont do not compete for the same types of flights, and the recovery of the international airport depends on the economic recovery in the state.
“When will Rio have another opportunity like this? Instead of working against Santos Dumont’s concession, thinking it’s helping Galeão, and in fact it’s not solving the problem, let’s work together to benefit our Rio de Janeiro now . With dialogue with President Bolsonaro, who is from Rio and has every interest in helping the state”, said the senator.
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