Nov 22, 2012

• Airport is expected to be operational before the 2014 World Cup

The BNDES approved R$ 329.3 million in financing to build the São Gonçalo do Amarante International Airport in the city with the same name, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

The amount accounts for 75% of total investments. The BNDES also approved R$ 1.64 million in credit for social investments in the area covered by the undertaking.

This is the first airport to be built and run by the private initiative – the consortium Inframérica, controlled by Infravix Participações S.A., a local company, and Corporación América S.A from Argentina.

Inframérica is responsible for constructing the passenger and cargo terminals, the control tower, the Access road to the terminals and the parking lot. Responsibility for building the runway and the aircraft patio belongs to the level of government making the concession, as previously established in the Airport Exploration Plan.

During construction, some 400 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created. Once operational, employee numbers should be around 292.

The new airport will be located 40 km from the state capital, Natal, one of the host cities for the 2014 World Cup. The current commercial airport, named the Augusto Severo Airport, will then be used exclusively for military aviation.

The new airport, which should be operational before the 2014 World Cup, is expected to improve the tourist infrastructure in the state of Rio Grande do Norte and help maintain the state’s growing tourist industry.

The airport in question was designed by Inframérica to offer an initial capacity of 6.3 million passengers per year. In 2011, the Augusto Severo Airport served 2.6 million passengers.

Infravix and Corporación América, together with INFRAERO, comprise the consortium responsible for expanding, maintaining and exploring the Brasília International Airport.

Corporación América is an Argentine holding with experience in building and running tourist airports, such as Punta Del Este and Galápagos.

The company will begin its activities in Brazil with the São Gonçalo do Amarante and Brasília airports. The company runs 47 airports in Latin America, Italy and Armenia, with a flow of more than 33 million passengers and 500,000 tons of cargo per year.