Rio de Janeiro – The minister of the Secretariat for Civil Aviation at the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, Moreira Franco, has said this Friday (6th) that no further airport concession auctions will be held. According to him, the government only had plans to deliver to the private initiative the five airports which have already been auctioned: Brasília; Guarulhos and Viracopos, in São Paulo; Galeão, in Rio de Janeiro; and Confins, in Belo Horizonte.
For the time being, the remaining airports in Brazil should continue to be managed by the state-owned Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero). “As per the airport infrastructure programme outlined by president Dilma Rousseff, the first phase consists of concession of major airports, so that major operators become involved and a competitive environment is created, eliciting advantages to passengers in safety, pricing, and service standards,” he said.
According to Moreira Franco, now is the time to evaluate the concessions which have already been granted. “Now we need to conduct an assessment, to measure out the impact of these concessions,” said the minister during a visit to the Jacarepaguá Airport. During the interview, the minister also discussed the regional aviation stimulus plan, designed to invest in 270 airports in medium-sized cities, and to reduce ticket prices for flights at these airports. According to him, the price reduction will be enabled by government subsidies originating from the National Aviation Fund.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
