São Paulo – The airports of cities to host the 2014 World Cup in Brazil should receive 5 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 2.7 billion) in investment. This information was disclosed by the Social Communications Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom) and of the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero).
According to a press statement by the Secom, in the airports of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo alone, the funds invested should reach 819 million reals (US$ 446 million) and R$ 1.49 billion (US$ 811 million). According to the president at Infraero, Cleonilson Nicácio, when the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) disclosed the 12 cities to host matches, the company had already scheduled investment in 10 of them.
The airports to receive the funds are Afonso Pena, in Curitiba, Confins and Pampulha, in Belo Horizonte, Eduardo Gomes, in Manaus, Guararapes, in Recife, Juscelino Kubitschek, in Brasília, Marechal Rondon, in Cuiabá, Pinto Martins, in Fortaleza, Salgado Filho, in Porto Alegre, as well as Santos Dumont, in Rio and Congonhas, Guarulhos and Viracopos, in São Paulo.
According to the Secom press statement, investment in the Augusto Severo airport, in Natal, and Luís Eduardo Magalhães, in Salvador, is still being discussed. The Infraero president added that, according to the company schedule, most of the works should be ready by 2013.
*Translated by Mark Ament
