The major world sporting events motivate discussions on various topics but especially on airport services.
Both allies of President Lula, as the opposition are convinced that urgent and necessary is a new model for raising the quality standard of these services and, more importantly, how that improvement will be financed.
There are proposals for all ideological hues. Even among allies of the president is an ongoing process of building consensus, seeking a definition that can not pass this year. Although her results are operationalized only in 2011.
We have three main lines of intervention proposals this question:
• The model continues as is, with Infraero acting as airport authority and as manager of the 67 airports, 80 units of support to the air terminal and 33 logistics load. In this model the financing are made through budgetary resources and the main source of revenue are fees charged to airport users
• IPO Infraero, which would become a sort of Petrobras, and assumption that the private contribution resources in the state's shareholding structure will ensure the necessary investments to maintain, expand capacity, increase service quality, as well as building new airports, supporting units to shipping and cargo logistics terminals.
• The Ministry of Defense and the FAA conduct bidding for operation of some or all airports by the private sector. It becomes more than the airport authority operator and builder, by moving these tasks to companies via contracts of 25 years, which will ensure quality standards, rates and all the necessary investment.
The big question being discussed is how to finance the improvements, capacity expansions (cargo, passengers and aircraft) and maintaining quality in the coming years.
seems to us that the concession model is for the private operation that offers the best benefit for users, and especially to the taxpayers. In this model, we propose as the best alternative, who is financing the necessary investments (in time and not late) is the user's airport system: passengers, producers, shippers, exporters and importers.
This model is not incumbent on the taxpayer and the resources from it can be applied to social programs or other investments that benefit everyone and not just a small portion of the population.
There are several possibilities for modeling but we think it would be interesting to further discuss a model with the following assumptions:
concessions could be auctioned for operation by the initiative in ten private lots, with six to seven airports in each. Each of these lots would have a major airport and five or six small and medium passenger and cargo traffic.
The distribution would be for various regions, without geographic concentration. For example: Galeao Airport, Vitoria, Salvador, João Pessoa, Macapá and Belém. Therefore, all lots would be attractive generation of revenues would fund the largest drive-peak.
The winning bidder would be the largest value that offers grants - which would for Infraero - the highest award procedures or best technique combined with grants, pondering whether these two aspects of each bidder.
Companies bidders could submit for the competition individually or in joint venture foreign company may participate as long as guaranteeing the control of the consortium by a Brazilian company, considering the strategic aspects of national security and that is characteristic of commercial and military aviation.
Finally, I think it would be important to ensure that only qualified for the bidding firms with extensive experience logistics and passenger loads.
There are other aspects that could be discussed but I think that was pointed out here is the basis for a broader discussion of the new financing model for Brazilian airport system.
José Augusto Valente is Technical Director T1
(This article was originally published in Blog Zé Dirceu )