French Concessionaire to Manage Aeroportos de Portugal

Lisbon airport

Published on 7th January, 2013

Portugal’s government chose the French company Vinci as the concessionaire of ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, the national airport management company. The decision was taken only a week after the process for the privatization of Portugal’s TAP national airline was cancelled and amid disputes about the ANA concession.

Vinci will manage Portugal’s airport apart from already being owner of Lusoponte shares. Lusoponte manages Vasco da Gama and 25 de Abril.

The French aviation company was the highest bidder. The company is well-established, being active in over 100 countries. Vinci manages railroad, road and park companies, as well as a number of airports.

According to Sérgio Monteiro, Secretary of State for Public Works, the proposal of Vinci corresponds to all of the governmental requirements for transportation growth and modernization. All of the companies that submitted a bid followed the governmental understanding of airport management but Vinci’s offer was the most suitable one, Monteiro concluded.

The Portuguese government has a number of strategic goals that will improve airport services in the country and turn Portugal into a strategic European air travel center.

A number of companies participated in the ANA tender. Some of the more noteworthy competitors included Fraport from Germany, a company that already is responsible for the management of 13 large airports; Brazil’s CCR; Swiss Flughafen Zurich; EAMA and the Global Infrastructure Partners.

Vinci was selected despite the fact that ANA employees demanded the termination of the privatization process. The current concession contract is for a 50-year period and Vinci will have to pay 100 million euro for the airport at the moment of the signing of the concession agreement.

The contract for ANA concession encompasses a number of airports throughout Portugal including the Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Santa Maria, Ponta Delgada, Beja and Flores airports.

The Algarve Airport, one of the largest European tourist airports, is also managed by ANA. According to 2011 figures, the traffic of the ANA airports is approximately 30 million passengers. These airports work with nearly 80 international aviation companies that perform flights to more than 160 destinations across the globe. In 2011, they serviced a total of 285 aircraft and 143,000 tons of cargo.

The goal of ANA is to effectively manage airport infrastructure and to take decisions about growth and renovation works. Additionally, the company is the one making choices about better services at the Portuguese airports.

ANA is the group responsible for airport security, handling and disabled passenger assistance services. Currently, the Portuguese government is the sole owner of the aviation company. ANA owns 70 percent of Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea da Madeira (ANAM), an aviation company that manages Madeira and Ponto Santo airports. Additionally, it owns 84.41 percent of the company that will be developing a project for the building of a new Lisbon airport.

In 2011, ANA invested a total of 95.1 million euro in airport modernization and expansion projects. The annual turnover of the airports managed by the company was approximately 425 million euro. The figure represents a 4.6 percent increase in comparison to the 2010 turnover. The company’s net profit for 2011 totaled 26.5 million euro. The 2011 annual financial performance of the company was considered the best in its history.

The privatization process was listed as one of the ANA priorities for the period from 2011 to 2015. The company’s growth strategy was drafted following the Portuguese government’s Strategic Transport Plan. According to the government, aviation is a transportation sector of exceptionally economic significance. According to estimates, air travel will continue growing, just like it has done in the past 50 years. Despite the financial crisis, air travel is expected to double by 2030.

To meet these challenges, ANA is looking forward to both a higher capacity and a better passenger service. In agreement with the Strategic Transport Plan, ANA will strive to begin working with aviation companies that previously refrained from performing flights to Portugal and to increase the number of passengers serviced by the group’s airports.

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Published in: Guide to Portugal / Travel