The concessionaire RIOGaleão announced this Thursday (10) that it presented the government with a request for the return of the Tom Jobim international airport, citing the impacts of the economic crisis and Covid-19 on the aviation sector.
After the decision was announced, the Minister of Infrastructure, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, announced the postponement of the Santos Dumont auction to 2023. The airport was considered one of the crown jewels of the seventh round of airport concessions, next to Congonhas airport. Now, the government plans to auction it off along with Galeão.
“The structuring of this joint concession will take place throughout 2022, and in the second half of next year we should have the auction”, said the minister at a press conference this Thursday.
Galeão was awarded to the private sector in 2013, with a bid of R$19 billion from a consortium that included Odebrecht, now Novonor. The value was almost four times greater than that defined in the public notice. The term of the contract would run until 2039.
Currently, RIOgaleão is controlled by Changi Airports, from Singapore, which has 51%, while Infraero has the remaining 49%. The concessionaire stated that it will continue operating the terminal until a new operator is defined at auction by the federal government.
“RIOgaleão will continue to maintain safety and quality standards in the airport operation and will honor the commitments and contracts with its employees, creditors, shopkeepers and suppliers throughout the re-bidding process”, said the concessionaire, in a note.
The decision to return the concession took place amid fears of predatory competition on the part of Santos Dumont, included by the federal government in the seventh and final round of airport auctions, scheduled for this semester.
In recent months, the airport concession model, now managed by Infraero, generated an exchange of barbs between Rio de Janeiro authorities and the federal government, which came to announce the auction of Santos Dumont isolated from the other terminals in the face of pressure.
Less than 20 kilometers separate the two airports. Politicians and businessmen from Rio de Janeiro believe that Santos Dumont has the potential to attract domestic flights, but suffers from geographical limitations in downtown Rio.
Important for cargo logistics in the state and generating 17 thousand direct and indirect jobs, Galeão International Airport was designed to receive large aircraft. Located on Ilha do Governador, it is far from other neighborhoods in the metropolitan region whose road connection is the Linha Vermelha, a frequent location for traffic and shootings.
Anac data indicate that Galeão has been facing more difficulties to resume the pre-pandemic level of operation than Santos Dumont, located in downtown Rio de Janeiro.
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