'Airport concession model will not change'

Elina Rodrigues Pozzebom

The Senate Agency - Within the Logistics Investment Program (PIL), a government initiative to stimulate private investment in infrastructure and reduce logistics costs in the country, the concession of Brazilian airports will be maintained in the current model, with the participation of the state-owned Infraero in consortia for 49%. This was stated by the Minister of the Civil House, Gleisi Hoffmann, during a public hearing of the Infrastructure Services Commission (CI) held this Wednesday (23).

The press cited a statement from the Minister of the Civil Aviation Secretariat (SAC), Moreira Franco, the previous day, in which he stated that this model is a "sacrifice" for the country and causes losses to the Treasury, but Gleisi defended its continuation.

"It was a choice we made for the sustainability of Infraero, because not all airports are suitable for concession, not all are sustainable. We need to have a company to manage the other airports, and Infraero is that company," he stated.

According to the minister, Infraero's participation in the concessioned airports is precisely to seek expertise and improve the state-owned company's management capacity by working alongside large operators. This will allow it to transfer these gains to the entire airport system.

Regional Food

After several senators questioned her about when it would be the turn of the smaller airports, Gleisi revealed that the Civil Aviation Secretariat (SAC) is finalizing a study for investment in the country's 270 regional airports, which should receive improvements through public works, since they are not attractive for concessions. The granting of concessions for the large airports already awarded is directed towards these improvements, the minister reminded.

"The annual fixed concession fee for Brasília, Viracopos, and Guarulhos alone will generate around R$ 1,1 billion to be used for investment in the system," he said.

In addition to the option of keeping small and medium-sized businesses under the state-owned company's administration, she revealed that there might be the possibility of delegating these responsibilities to states and municipalities, with management carried out through public-private partnerships (PPPs).

"We will have several regional airports with different management models, which could be directly public, in the case of Infraero, but it will retain only a few of them, or delegated to states and municipalities, through an administrative partnership with the private sector," he stated.

To date, three major airports have already been granted concessions – Viracopos and Guarulhos, in São Paulo, and Juscelino Kubitscheck, in Brasília – and two others are in the concession process, Galeão (RJ) and Confins (MG). The next ones to be granted concessions will be those of Salvador, Porto Alegre, Recife, Fortaleza and Vitória.

Investments in logistics

According to the minister, the Logistics Investment Program, launched in September of this year, aims to attract private capital, including foreign investment, of R$ 240 billion for the construction of roads (R$ 52 billion), railways (R$ 99 billion), ports (R$ 54 billion) and airports (R$ 8,7 billion).

The auctions for the BR-163 highway in Mato Grosso and the BR-060 highway, which connects Brasília to Goiânia, are scheduled for November 27th and December 4th respectively, with the bidding documents already published. The auctions for the BR-040 highway, between Brasília and Juiz de Fora (MG), and the BR-163 highway in Mato Grosso do Sul, are expected to take place in 2014. According to Gleisi, in the first five years, efforts will be directed towards highway expansion. The challenge is to implement socially acceptable tolls.

In the railway sector, the new concession model to be implemented will separate those who manage the railway infrastructure from those who operate the rail transport. The concessionaire builds and maintains the infrastructure, while the operator buys the capacity and operates the transport. According to the minister, the system will allow for more operators to use the railway, not just the one who won the concession to build it. The company offering the lowest price for both construction and operation will win the concession. After that, Valec SA, the public company responsible for Brazilian railways, will pay this amount and then make a public offer to those who want to use that railway.

"Valec is discussing the model before we present it to the market. But Valec will be the main administrator, the manager of all the capacity of this network for offering in the market," he stated.

Gleisi also stated that several private terminal projects in ports have already had public calls for bids launched and are awaiting authorization from the National Agency for Waterway Transportation (Antaq). The expectation is that the first ones to be built will have construction started in early 2014. The leasing of the ports of Santos and Pará is only pending the release of the bidding documents and studies by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), and the leasing of the ports of Paranaguá, Bahia, and São Sebastião is in public consultation.

TCU

Before Gleisi Hoffmann's presentation, the president of the CI, Senator Fernando Collor (PTB-AL), cited an article by economist and former minister Delfim Netto about the loss of the State's logistical planning capacity, especially due to a lack of well-designed projects. Furthermore, he noted that bodies such as the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) and the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) are acting in ways that transcend their roles, paralyzing important projects.

Senators such as Blairo Maggi (PR-MT), Lobão Filho (PMDB-MA), and José Pimentel (PT-CE) criticized the Court's stance, which often points to overpricing in bidding processes and paralyzes projects, harming thousands of citizens. Pimentel even suggested updating the legislation governing such bodies.

The Attorney General of the Union, Luiz Inácio Lucena Adams, who accompanied the minister, explained that this is a legal obligation of the court, foreseen in the Organic Law of the TCU (Law 8.843/1992) and in the Federal Constitution. Both Adams and Gleisi stated that working in collaboration with the TCU is important for the continuation of the works, guaranteeing legal certainty in the outcome of the bidding processes.

"When we have disagreements, we talk to move forward and avoid conflict. There's no point in stopping the process to debate who is right," the minister explained.