Brazil seeks to privatize all Infraero-run airports

Brazil's federal government is planning to close down national airport authority Infraero and privatize all 54 of the airports the authority operates throughout the country.

A nationwide airport privatization plan is being put together, involving six lots. Each concession will entail operating a major and more lucrative airport, along with several other less lucrative ones, state news service Agência Estado reported.

Two lots of airports are being planned in the southeast in the country, in addition to one lot each in the south, north, northeast and mid-west regions.

The plan should eventually bring in around 43bn reais (US$13bn) for the federal government, with 14bn reais from canon payments over the next 30 years, 17bn reais in required infrastructure investments and 12bn reais in expenditure savings, according to the report.

Infraero and civil aviation authority SAC are currently studying the best way to put together the airport lots, as well as the best strategy for the auctions, which could include launching tenders simultaneously or gradually.

"It's not easy to privatize 54 airports, especially with the characteristics of the system that has been managed by Infraero," the transport minister Maurício Quintella was quoted as saying.

These issues should be decided by early July, followed by a final evaluation by members of the board of the country's investment partnerships program, PPI.

THE LOTS

Each of the lots will include one of the country's six major airports.

These airports are Congonhas in São Paulo state (southeastern), Santos Dumont in Rio de Janeiro (southeastern), Curitiba in Paraná (south), Manaus in Amazonas (north), Recife in Pernambuco (northeast) and Goiânia in Goiás (mid-west).

Two of the lots also have tentative lists of smaller airports.

While Santos Dumont looks like it will be offered together with Jacarepaguá, Macaé and Vitória airports, Recife will likely be up for grabs along with the airports in Maceió, Joao Pessoa and Juazeiro.