The Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor) and the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) held on Monday (30th), at B3, in São Paulo, an assisted sale auction of Rio de Janeiro International Airport – Antônio Carlos Jobim, known as Galeão. The procedure is part of a consensual solution built with the aim of readjusting the concession contract and ensuring the continuity of operations for one of the country's most important entry gateways. After roughly 1 hour of bidding and nearly 30 oral rounds, concessionaire Aena won the Rio de Janeiro terminal with a bid of R$ 2.9 billion, a premium of over 210%.
For the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, the auction represents a historic moment for Brazil. "We have here today a very positive result for national aviation and for the country as a whole. This auction is a clear demonstration that differences build convergences and here everything worked in favor of Galeão. That is why we need to strengthen, increasingly, collective construction," he emphasized. Costa Filho also stressed that Brazil is becoming increasingly a major player in the globalized economy: "here we have good projects, legal certainty and well-functioning institutions. We also have the largest volume of concessions in national history, equivalent to more than R$ 300 billion in contracts signed in concessions for ports, airports, highways, railways, sanitation, oil and gas," he highlighted.
"That is why we need to strengthen, increasingly, collective construction," he emphasized. Costa Filho also stressed that Brazil is becoming increasingly a major player in the globalized economy"
Silvio Costa Filho
Three groups participated in the auction: current concessionaire RIOgaleão, Spanish Aena, and Swiss Zurich Airport. The current concessionaire, RIOgaleão, is formed by Brazilian asset manager Vinci Compass and international operator Changi, from Singapore.
Model
The auction notice also stipulates that the controlling entity make a variable contribution corresponding to 20% of the concession's gross revenue until 2039, in addition to assuming all assets, liabilities, obligations and rights related to Galeão.
The operation also formalizes Infraero's exit from the airport's corporate structure, which held 49% of the concessionaire's shares. This new agreement brought structural changes and regulatory modernization, essential for the sustainability and growth of Galeão.
The director-president of the National Civil Aviation Agency, Tiago Faierstein, highlighted the auction result and emphasized the joint work of agencies in conducting the auction. "What happened here today was the realization of an initiative built in a consensus chamber held by the Federal Court of Accounts. The success of the auction is also due to the TCU, for having opened this opportunity to renegotiate such an important contract for the country. By joining efforts between the TCU, National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and MPor, we managed to conduct this first market test for Brazil's airport contracts," he concluded.
The contract repactualization is the result of a process conducted jointly with the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) and other agencies involved, which sought a negotiated solution to ensure the continuity of the concession and preserve investments already made in the airport.
Rebalancing and Recovery
The auction takes place after a period of restructuring at Galeão, which faced declining demand in the years following major investments made for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, a scenario worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In recent years, measures adopted jointly by different government levels sought to rebalance airport operations in Rio de Janeiro. Among them is the movement limit at Santos Dumont Airport, aimed at better distributing flow between terminals and optimizing the use of existing infrastructure.
The effects of this reorganization are already appearing in the numbers. In 2023, Santos Dumont and Galeão airports handled together 18.9 million passengers. In 2025, the volume rose to 23.5 million, indicating demand recovery and greater operational balance between the two airports.
Tomé Franca, executive secretary of the Ministry of Ports and Airports, emphasized the importance of the auction for aviation in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. "We did more than conduct an auction: we established a new development pact for the state and for Brazil. We designed the concession with an eye toward the future. The curve of increasing passenger movement in Brazil is a fact that has been consolidating over the last three years and will require a Galeão that is prepared. More Brazilians are flying, more aircraft are landing and taking off, making our economy turn. And nothing more fitting than having Brazil's largest airport ready to meet future demand," he emphasized.
The assisted sale model allows the continuation of the concession with new contractual bases, replacing the re-bidding initially planned and incorporating more recent sector regulation practices. Among the changes are a review of obligations, the exclusion of requirements such as building a third runway, and the adoption of economic-financial rebalancing mechanisms.
```Special Communication Affairs Office
Ministry of Ports and Airports
