The federal government does not currently foresee the adoption of competitive restrictions in the next airport auctions, as stated by the Minister of Ports and Airports, Tomé Franca, to Conexão Infra this Thursday (18).
“At first I would say no [tem necessidade]. We currently do not have a diagnosis of the problem in the management of Brazilian airports”, explained the minister.
The next auction planned by the government is that of Brasília International Airport. The expectation is that the competition will be held in November 2026. According to the model under discussion, the current concessionaire must participate in the dispute and the winning company will take over the operation of the terminal until 2037.
The new bidding will take place after approval, by the TCU (Federal Audit Court), of the renegotiation agreement signed between the federal government and Inframerica. The understanding redesigns the current contract, provides for new investments and includes regional airports in the concession.
The statement comes amid questions from the sector about Aena’s strong presence in the Brazilian market. Currently, the company is the operator with the highest volume of passengers in the country and manages 18 airports in Brazil.
“At first I don’t see this as a problem (…), but we need to internalize [essa discussão] with the regulatory agency to check if there is a need to make any type of restriction”, stated the minister.
Despite being an old subject, the debate on competitive barriers has recently gained strength in the infrastructure sector after the imposition of restrictions on the participation of certain groups in port auctions.
The most emblematic case was that of the Tecon Santos 10 container terminal, at the Port of Santos (SP), where specific rules limited the participation of terminals that already operate there.
Last year, Antaq (National Waterway Transport Agency) also recommended restrictions on the participation of LHG Mining, from the J&F group, in the first stage of the future auction of the Paraguayan waterway.
