The Brazilian government has called off the privatisation of Rio's Galeao international airport and will instead rely on a public-private entity to run it, according to Rio state governor Sergio Cabral. Cabral told the O Globo daily Friday that President Dilma Rousseff had proposed to him that the airport be put under "joint management."
"She will bring a major private firm which will partner with (the state airport operator) Infraero. This is music to our ears," Cabral was quoted as saying Friday. "It is an easy and intelligent solution which will give us the agility we need," Cabral added without giving more details on how the new private partner will be selected.
In February, Brasilia privatised three airports - including Sao Paulo's Guarulhos, the country's largest and busiest - at a $14 billion auction ahead of the 2014 World Cup, breaking the monopoly of Infraero, which runs all the country's airports. The $14 billion price tag was four times higher than initially planned.
O Globo, meanwhile, said the "joint management model" will also apply to Belo Horizonte's Confins airport, which registered a 21 percent increase in passenger traffic last year. Rio's Galeao saw a 31.9 percent increase in traffic last year, with 14.9 million passengers. This city of 6.5 million people will host the World Cup final in its iconic Maracana stadium on July 13, 2014 and will stage the 2016 Summer Olympics.
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