First PPP in Santa Catarina will be at Jaguaruna Airport

The government of Santa Catarina is working to close the first public-private partnership (PPP) in the state’s history. This Friday (1st), the notice will be presented to those interested in investing in Jaguaruna airport, a city of 20 thousand inhabitants and with a gross domestic product per capita of R$40 thousand, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The expectation is that the winner of the bid will be known in February and that this PPP will consolidate a privatization phase.

Owner of the longest runway in length in Santa Catarina, measuring 2,500 meters, the Southern Regional Airport Humberto Ghizzo Bortoluzzi has design flaws, which prevent it from receiving large aircraft and helping to develop the tourist and economic potential of the city. region. In short, it is unfinished, assesses the Secretary of State for Ports, Airports and Railways, Beto Martins.

“They made a length of runway to receive (Boeing) 767 (with capacity for 216 passengers) and jumbo cargo ships, but forgot the width, which is only 30 meters. We need to expand it to 45 meters to qualify the airport to receive large aircraft”, he explains.

Another problem highlighted by the secretary is the passenger terminal, considered small and uncomfortable. According to him, many residents of the region choose to fly by Florianópolis (164 kilometers away) and Porto Alegre (308 kilometers) due to local conditions. Currently, the airport handles around 10 thousand passengers per month, reaching 120 thousand per year. According to the state government, it is estimated that with the concession, 188 thousand passengers will pass through the airport per year, an increase of 56%. This growth in flow “can bring a wave of development to the region”, understands the director of privatization and partnerships at the State Department of Finance, Renato Lacerda.

In the first four years of the PPP, the focus will be on widening the runway and revitalizing the passenger terminal. During this period, investment in the airport will be R$60 million – an amount that will be contributed by the government and the company that wins the bid.

The estimated value of the contract is R$320 million with a term of 30 years.

Jaguaruna airport was built after mobilization of leaders from the southern region of the state, who, in 1999, commissioned feasibility studies. This research identified three suitable locations in the city for the construction of the track. In 2002, construction began on the Regional Airport, and in 2010, the passenger terminal was opened. In April 2014, visual operations began at the airport and, a year later, commercial operations were authorized to begin with daily flights, from Monday to Friday.

Future PPPs are on the radar to consolidate attraction of private investments

According to Lacerda, with this first public-private partnership, “this public policy of attracting private investments for the implementation of public infrastructures” in the state is consolidated.

“The process is complex, but Governor Jorginho understands that it is a strategic policy, to attract more investments to the state, promote better infrastructure and generate more business and development. That’s why we’re working to put new projects on the agenda, looking for private partners to work in other sectors, such as tourism, health, security and education,” he explains.

At the Santa Catarina Fiscal Adjustment Plan (Pafisc), launched at the end of March by the secretariat, priorities for PPPs were defined. In addition to Jaguaruna airport, hospitals, transport system and prisons completed the list. Together they total Capex of R$ 2.2 billion – this value includes the volume of investment, generally at the beginning of the project, and the monthly cost of operational maintenance:

• Florianópolis hospital complex: Capex R$ 988.3 million
• Blumenau socio-educational center: R$53 million
• Blumenau prison system: R$ 262.5 million
• Jaguaruna Airport: R$52.2 million
• Water transport in Greater Florianópolis: $527 million
• Itajaí-Navegantes Waterway Transport: R$ 207 million
• Integrated Metropolitan Transport of Florianópolis: R$ 114 million

PPPs began with Jaguaruna airport because it was the “first project that reached the necessary level of maturity, being ready to go to auction, after being presented to society through public hearings and consultations, opportunities in which contributions were collected and suggestions that were added to the project”, explains the director of privatization and partnerships at the State Department of Finance. These studies include economic, financial and legal variables, as well as architectural and engineering projects and projections of initial investments and reinvestments over the term of the contracts, which are long, generally between 25 and 30 years.

The expectation is that at least two of these PPPs will be launched in 2024: the socio-educational center and the Blumenau prison system. The penitentiary complex project, selected as a pilot by the federal government and supported by BNDES, provides for 2,979 new vacancies, of which 1,600 vacancies are for the closed regime, 800 vacancies for the provisional regime and 579 vacancies for the semi-open regime.

Proposals for Jaguaruna Airport will be announced in February

Governor Jorginho Mello announced on November 7 the opening of the sponsored concession process for the Southern Regional Airport Humberto Ghizzo Bortoluzzi – Jaguaruna Airport. The launch of the notice will be held next Friday (1st), at the headquarters of B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, in São Paulo.

Brazilian or foreign legal entities, supplementary pension entities and investment funds may participate in the competition, individually or in a consortium. The participation of a consortium member, its subsidiaries, controlling companies or under common control, in more than one consortium, even if with different participations or members, or separately, will not be permitted.

Proposals to participate in the bidding will be accepted on February 1, 2024, from 9 am to 12 pm, also at B3, with proposals opening in a public session six days later, on February 7, starting at 2 pm. The company that proposes the lowest value of public contribution will be chosen. to be paid by the government, according to federal decree of 2011. The notice already determines that the maximum value of this contribution will be R$ 33.3 million.

Jaguaruna x-ray

The city of Jaguaruna, located in the south of Santa Catarina, has a population of 20,375, according to the 2022 Census, being the 70th most populous in the state, in a total of 295 municipalities. In 2021, he had an average monthly salary of two minimum wages. The proportion of employed people in relation to the total population was 35.67%.

Considering households with monthly income of up to half the minimum wage per person, 26.5% of the population had these conditions, which placed it in position 173 out of 295 among the cities in the state and in position 5,197 out of 5,570 among cities in Brazil.

In relation to health, the average infant mortality rate in the city is 3.98 per thousand live births. Hospitalizations due to diarrhea are 1.2 per thousand inhabitants. Compared to all municipalities in the state, it ranks 175th and 130th out of 295, respectively. When compared to cities across Brazil, these positions are 3,887 and 2,173 out of 5570, respectively.

It presents 77% of households with adequate sanitary sewage, 42.6% of urban households on public roads with trees and 6.9% of urban households on public roads with adequate urbanization (presence of drains, sidewalks, paving and curbs).