São Paulo kicks off public hearing for regional airport concessions

The government of São Paulo has opened a public hearing for the concession of 22 regional airports in the country’s most populous state. 

The public hearing will close on May 21, while the dates for the auctions have not yet been set. 

The total estimated capex for the airports during the 30-year concession period is 408mn reais (US$78.5mn), a spokesperson at the state's infrastructure secretariat told BNamericas

Despite the big crisis faced by the airline industry due to the coronavirus, experts see appetite from investors for the regional airports. 

“After the end of this health crisis, people will tend to opt for short-range trips and also those with private jets, which are the focus of the regional airports and that will boost demand for these airports,” Marcos Jose Barbieri Ferreira, economics professor at local university Unicamp and an airline industry expert, told BNamericas.

The administration of São Paulo governor João Doria has advocated strongly for concessions, privatizations and PPP, and the state’s ambitious privatization agenda is expected to restart once the health crisis has passed.