São Paulo – Spanish company Aena won the most anticipated lot in the 7th round of Brazil’s airport concessions auction, which included Congonhas Airport (pictured above), in the capital of São Paulo, the second busiest in the country. Aena already holds the concession for six airports in the Northeast Region, including Maceió and Recife. The concession will be valid for 30 years.
The Spanish company acquired the São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará and Minas Gerais lot, which, in addition to Congonhas, includes the airports of Campo Grande, Corumbá, and Ponta Porã, in Mato Grosso do Sul; Santarém, Marabá, Parauapebas, and Altamira, in Pará; and Uberlândia, Uberaba, and Montes Claros, in Minas Gerais. The offer was BRL 2.45 billion (about USD 474.65 at the current rate), representing a premium of 231.02% over the reference price established in the public tender. There was no competition in the auction for this lot, solely Aena bade.
Other lots
This Thursday, two more lots were auctioned at B3, the São Paulo stock exchange. The General Aviation Lot, composed of the airports Campo de Marte, in São Paulo, and Jacarepaguá, in Rio de Janeiro, was acquired by the mutual fund XP Infra IV FIP Infraestrutura. There was also no competition for this lot.
The North Lot II, comprising the airports of the capitals of Pará, Belém, and Amapá, Macapá, was the only one that had competition, being disputed in many bids aloud by the Novo Norte Airports Consortium and Vinci Airports. This lot was acquired by Consórcio Novo Norte, which offered BRL 125 million (about USD 24.21 million), a premium of 119.78%.
According to the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), the 15 airports auctioned this Thursday (18) account for 15.8% of total passenger traffic in Brazil, with over 30 million passengers a year. Brazil’s airport concession program had already transferred 77.5% of national traffic to the private sector from 2011 to 2021. With this seventh round, the percentage will reach 91.6%.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
