"Brazil Pushes Back First Airport-License Auction to August 22"

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Brazil Pushes Back First Airport-License Auction to August 22
Dow Jones


SAO PAULO - Brazil's aviation authority said Thursday it will delay a
planned auction for the license to build and operate the Sao Goncalo do
Amarante airport in the country's northeast, the first of several airports
it plans to license to private operators.

The auction will be held on Aug. 22, more than a month later than the
previously scheduled auction date of July 19, civil aviation regulator Anac
said Thursday.

There are still outstanding questions that need to be resolved in the
licensing contract before the auction, Anac's press office said. The agency
denied reports that the delay was brought about by a lack of interested
bidders.

Brazil's growing demand for air travel--which expanded 23% last year--has
put a strain on the country's airports. President Dilma Rousseff agreed to
hand over some airports to private companies in order to expand capacity,
especially ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, both to
be held in the country.

The winning bidder at the Sao Goncalo do Amarante airport in Natal, which
will be the bidder who offers the most for the contract, will have three
years to build the airport and will hold the rights to operate it for 25
years after that, Anac said on its website. The license can be extended one
time for five years.

The starting bidding price for the license is 51.7 million Brazilian reais
($ 33.2 million).

Rousseff has said she will auction operating rights for another three
airports: Sao Paulo's international airport, as well as airports in Brasilia
and in Campinas, a city about 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) north of Sao
Paulo. The government also is studying licensing construction at airports in
the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.

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