Natal airport is sold for BRL 320 million – 05/19/2023 – Market

Zurich Airport International was the winner of the concession auction for the airport of São Gonçalo do Amarante (RN), the first held under the current administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The event was held on the morning of this Friday (19) at the headquarters of B3, in São Paulo.

With an offer of R$ 320 million, the group won the terminal, whose minimum bid had been established at R$ 226.9 million – a premium of 41%.

Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) defined that the winner of the auction would be the company that offered the highest initial contribution for the expansion, maintenance and operation of the airport for a period of 30 years.

The auction had two interested groups, Zurich Airport International and XP Asset, the resource management arm of the correct XP —which participated in the event under the name of NK 230 Empreendimentos e Participações.

Currently, the Swiss company Zurich has terminals in Florianópolis, Macaé (RJ) and Vitória (ES). It also operates Belo Horizonte airport (Confins), with the CCR group. XP is responsible for Campo de Marte (SP) and Jacarepaguá airport (RJ).

Until the new administrator fully assumes the concession, Infraframerica will remain in charge of the air terminal. The transition between the companies is expected to take place in early 2024.

The auction began with the opening of bids submitted in writing. Zurich made the highest initial offer, at BRL 250 million (10.16% premium). XP’s first proposal was R$231 million (1.79% premium).

After the opening of the initial bids, the auction entered the open outcry section. The competitors disputed a series of rounds until the hammer was beaten in the bid of BRL 320,000,012, made by Zurich.

no hammering

At the hammer-slamming ceremony, Minister Márcio França (Ports and Airports) said that Lula asked for speed in the process, stressing that it is the first auction of the new government and in this new format of rebidding.

“It’s normal that the first paths, the first steps, are taken with some difficulty, because you are embarking on another path”, he said.

According to him, this specific case was “very disturbing”, because Natal airport is one of the largest in Brazil.

When hitting the hammer, França mocked the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), and said that it would be “softer” — in allusion to the strong hammer blows that Tarcísio makes a point of associating with his privatist image.

However, the minister sought to make nods to the market. He said that the auction reinforces the start of a government willing to partner with the public and the private sector. “Respecting the authority of public things, respecting the authority of those who were elected and the majority of the Brazilian population who decided to elect President Lula”.

“We know that these operations can be carried out if there is a correct model, if the process is serious and, above all, if there are competent people to operate on the other side”, he added.

França said he was happy with the result and that values ​​and goodwill are less important. “We want the service to be well done.” “The equipment remains public, now managed by a major operator, Zurich”, she concluded.

Tobias Markert, CEO of Zurich Latam, said the airport fits well into the group’s portfolio. Questioned about what motivated the company to be interested in the terminal, the executive said that the group has been investing in Brazil for some time, and that the country is a focus market for them, as well as India.

Markert said he believes in the economy and in the Brazilian airline industry, and that this is a perfect opportunity to invest in another asset. Regarding how he will make the payment, the CEO said that the good news is that the payment will not be made with precatorios, but with company resources.

Precatorios are Union debt securities with final court judgments. The mention of the bonds alludes to a recent government imbroglio with concessions. The government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) approved the use of precatories for payment of grants – something that France is against.

Tiago Sousa Pereira, director of Anac, thanked the companies for participating in the auction and said he was happy with the result. “The people of Rio Grande Norte can be sure that they will count on a great operator”, he stated.

Pereira said that the rebidding was carried out with the commitment of many actors, citing Minister Márcio França, the governor of Rio Grande do Norte, Fátima Bezerra (PT), and the TCU (Tribunal de Contas da União).

Fátima Bezerra said that the auction is a great achievement for the state. “It was more than three years of a lot of struggle. The blocked airport brought a lot of damage to our state, but now, thank God, we are taking a very important step with the definition of the new operator”, he said.

The governor welcomed Zurich and said that the group is acquiring a terminal that has a great future, with great passenger traffic and the second largest runway in the country.

airport rebidding

São Gonçalo do Amarante was the first in Brazil to be awarded to the private sector, in 2011, as part of the first airport auction. According to the aviation agency, the auction will be for the largest initial contribution offered for the expansion, maintenance and operation of the airport for a period of 30 years.

The terminal, located in the metropolitan region of Natal, has the capacity to receive 6 million passengers per year, has eight boarding bridges and operates domestic and international flights.

The airport underwent a friendly return process carried out by the Inframerica Consortium, the airport’s administrator, which announced the request in 2020. has the potential to help develop national infrastructure.

Located 18 kilometers from the port of Natal and about 30 kilometers from the center of the Potiguar capital, the airport is close to roads that connect with other capitals in the Northeast, such as João Pessoa (PB) and Recife (PE).

The contract with Inframerica began in 2012, for a period of 28 years, and the terminal was built from scratch, as part of the works planned for the 2014 World Cup. The company is also responsible for managing the Brasília airport.

According to the current concessionaire, the Rio Grande do Norte terminal also stands out as one of the main cargo exporters in the Northeast region and has 210,000 m² of aircraft patio area.

Natal airport ended 2022 with a flow of 2.2 million passengers and 18,179 takeoffs and landings. The movement represents an increase of 24.6% in the movement of people, compared to 2021.

In 2020, Infrarica announced that it would return the airport’s concession. At the time, the airport operator calculated that it had invested around BRL 700 million in infrastructure works.

One of the justifications presented by the company at the time was in relation to passenger traffic, “mainly impacted by the severe and long economic crisis faced by the country, which occurred precisely in the initial period of the concession and which directly impacted tourism in the region”.

The company also stated that the technical, economic and environmental feasibility studies carried out at the beginning of the concession pointed to an expectation of 4.3 million passengers in 2019. “However, the registered flow was 2.3 million, about half of what was foreseen in the feasibility studies”, he said.

According to the concessionaire, contractual rules that were perfected over the course of other airport auctions also weighed in the decision.

“With the rebidding and new contractual conditions, the administrator who will take over will have more chances of having a sustainable operation in the long term”, said the company, in a note, this Thursday (18).