The impasse over the concession model for Santos Dumont airport, in Rio de Janeiro, has a new chapter. This time, the city of Rio de Janeiro criticizes the federal government by stating that it was excluded from the work group in charge of discussing eventual changes in the airport’s public notice.
The working group started activities on Wednesday (19), with five names nominated by the federal government and another five representatives from the state of Rio — the city hall is not among them.
The initiative was announced after pressure from politicians and businessmen from Rio de Janeiro, who defend the adoption of some level of restrictions on new flights on Santos Dumont after the concession.
In the opinion of local leaders, a large expansion of the offer at the terminal could jeopardize the operations of the Galeão international airport, also located in Rio.
The possibility of increasing Santos Dumont flights was celebrated by the federal government, but encountered resistance between the state government and the city hall of Rio. Thus, the clash took shape in recent months.
“It is, at the very least, absurd for the city of Rio to have both airports and not have been asked to give an opinion”, says the municipal secretary of Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification of Rio, Chicão Bulhões, who contests the public notice designed so far for the Santos Dumont.
“An airport is not like a bakery. An airport is a regulated business.”
According to Bulhões, the municipality plans to send a formal notification to join the working group. “The discontent is with the federal government, which is responsible for the concession”, he says.
The end of the working group’s activities is scheduled for February 18. The federal government aims to hold the Santos Dumont auction in 2022, the year marked by the presidential elections.
In a note, the Ministry of Infrastructure, responsible for the concession process, said that the working group is open to new stakeholders in the debate.
“The creation of the working group on the concession of Santos Dumont airport is the result of a dialogue between the federal government and entities of society and public authorities in Rio de Janeiro. The WG is open to any representative or entity that is related to the subject and can contribute”, says the folder.
“The first meeting took place this Wednesday, with the opening of Minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas. A calendar of meetings will still be submitted and approved by the members of the group”, he added.
According to the decree published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday, the initiative may admit —provided there is agreement among the members— the technical support of representatives of academia, private institutions, agencies and entities of the federal or state public administration, as well as specialists in civil aviation and airport infrastructure.
Politicians and businessmen from Rio de Janeiro believe that Santos Dumont has the potential to attract domestic flights, but suffers from geographical limitations.
Galeão, in turn, was planned to receive large aircraft and plays an important role in cargo logistics in the state.
About 20 kilometers separate the two terminals. Santos Dumont is in the center of the state capital, and Galeão is located on Ilha do Governador.
The infrastructure manager of Firjan (Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro), Isaque Ouverney, believes that dialogue with the federal government is important at this time.
Ouverney is one of the state representatives on the working group. In his view, it is still “premature” to project the outcome of negotiations with the federal government.
“The first meeting was very positive. The concession has enormous potential to attract investments and generate benefits for passengers and society as a whole. But there is concern about the proposal presented by the government, and we are anxious for the model to evolve”, he reports. .
Reflections in SP
The debate on the eventual revision of the Santos Dumont public notice is also starting to generate reflexes in São Paulo.
A sign of this is that the concessionaire GRU Airport, which manages the international airport of São Paulo, in Guarulhos (SP), asked to participate in the working group.
The concessionaire, controlled by Invepar, reported concerns about possible changes in the Santos Dumont project and fears possible protection for Galeão, its competitor for international flights.
Guarulhos can still see an increase in competition within São Paulo. It’s just that, like Santos Dumont, the Congonhas terminal should also go up for auction in the seventh round of concessions for airports by the federal government, scheduled for this year.
Analysts point to Congonhas and Santos Dumont as the crown jewels in the dispute.
“The concessionaire understands that competition between airports, whether in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, or in any other state or region, must follow market rules and free competition,” said GRU Airport on Wednesday.
“The concern lies in the adoption of a solution that implies the creation of a restriction at Santos Dumont airport without corresponding adjustment in Congonhas”, he added.
The city of Rio denies Guarulhos’ interest in participating in the discussions. The concessionaire RIOgaleão, in turn, reported that it prefers not to comment on the process of the seventh round of airport concessions.
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