Infraero Will Sell 10 Percent Share in Airports

08/27/2015 - 10h22

The federal government plans to sell the shares that Infraero has in airports, granted as part of a private initiative, in an effort to save the State, whose loss in 2015 will reach R $450 million (US$ 126 million).

According to Minister Eliseu Padilha (Civil Aviation), the intention is to sell something close to 10 percent of Guarulhos, Brasília, Confins, Galeão and Viracopos (Campinas) airports. Infraero has a 49 percent share in each one.

The concession made the state lose its most profitable airports; and, as a result of the loss of revenue, the company went from profit to loss.

"We have a study completed by the Banco do Brasil and Minister Nelson Barbosa [Planning] has already approved. It is perfectly viable," says Padilha. The proposal still has to be submitted for Rousseff's review.

The goal is for the sales of the shares to occur starting next year. The 2016 budget will already take into account the revenue from the deal, the minister said.

Padilha did not reveal how much the government plans to gain from the sale of the shares. But, he said that the business would solve the State's financial problem, which, he said, is "temporary".

The money will be used to capitalize Infraero. The company's profits reached R$ 1 billion (US$ 350 million) in 2012, year of the first airport auctions.

Since then, revenues shrank 58 percent, while costs fell only 17 percent. The State entered the awards program with 13,600 employees -less than a thousand went to the private sector.

Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ

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	Marcos Moraes/Brazil Photo Press/Folhapress
	The federal government plans to sell the shares that Infraero has in airports