First airport granted in the country is also the first to be returned to the government and re-bid since 2011.| Photo: Secom/disclosure

The multinational Zurich Airport International won the auction for the São Gonçalo do Amarante Airport (RN), which serves Natal, for R$ 320 million this Friday morning (19), on the B3, in São Paulo. The terminal is the first in the country to be re-bid after the round of concessions started in 2011, in which the airport itself began the process of privatizing Infraero’s assets.

The offer made by Zurich represented a premium of 41% on the minimum amount offered of BRL 226.9 million, and was also disputed by NK 230, which has XP Investimentos as one of its partners. The re-bidding for the terminal takes place 17 years before the end of the contract signed with Inframerica, which won the airport in the first round of concessions – the government will have to return R$ 230 million for investments made.

The new tender will have a contract term of 30 years. The expectation is that the transition to the new concessionaire will take place in 2024. In addition to São Gonçalo do Amarante, Zurich already manages the terminals that serve Florianópolis, Vitória, Belo Horizonte and Macaé (RJ).

The rebidding of the airport is the first of others that are being discussed by the concessionaires for the return to the federal government, such as Viracopos, in Campinas (SP), and Galeão, in Rio de Janeiro.