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Bloomberg
Flughafen Zurich AG and Aena SME won concessions to operate airports in Brazil in an auction. The tender was seen as a test of investors’ appetite towards President Jair Bolsonaro’s market-friendly agenda that includes a massive privatisation plan.
Bids for the three regional blocks came in well above the initial ask, and the government will collect fees of some 2.4 billion reais ($630 million), about 10 times the minimum initial fee of 219 million reais. Infrastructure Minister Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas called the auction “a show of trust in Brazil,†adding that the auction was just one of the government’s initiatives to stimulate the sector.
Swiss firm Flughafen Zurich won the auction of the block of airports in the Southeastern region for 437 million reais, while Spain’s Aena won the bidding for the Northeast block, with a 1.9 billion-real offer. Local companies Socicam Terminais Rodoviarios e Representacoes Ltda and Sinart Sociedade Nacional de Apoio Rodoviario e Turistico Ltda formed a consortium that won the rights to operate airports in the Center-West for 40 million reais.
All the winners said they are interested in the next concession rounds, which are expected for 2020 and 2021. Freitas said the rules for the next auction.
The government sold 30-year concessions for 12 airports, divided in three blocks: Northeast, with airports in Recife, Maceio, Joao Pessoa, Aracaju, Juazeiro do Norte and Campina Grande. Center-West, with airports in Cuiaba, Sinop, Rondonopolis and Alta Floresta Southeast, with airports in Vitoria and Macae.