MORE THAN US$ 3,000 MILLION WILL BE INVESTED IN 18 AIRPORTS UNDER CONCESSION THROUGH PPP
Lima, March 21, 2023.- PROINVERSIÓN informed that there are currently three (3) airport project concessions in Peru through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) that include a total of 18 airports, with programmed investments that would exceed US$ 3,000 million.
These are the concessions of Jorge Chavez International Airport, awarded in 2001, with an investment commitment of more than US$ 1,730 million; the First Group of Regional Airports, which includes 12 airports in the north and center of the country, awarded in 2006, with an investment commitment of US$ 635 million; and the Second Group of Regional Airports, awarded in 2011, comprising five (5) airports in the south of the country, with an investment commitment of almost US$ 200 million.
To this almost US$ 2,600 million of investment commitments reported by OSITRAN, additional investments would be added, highlighting those being made by LAP, through the expansion works at Jorge Chavez Airport.
In all three concessions, the private party has the obligation to maintain and operate the airports with high levels of safety and quality, required through airport and commercial services. As part of the so-called mandatory or initial works, the private sector was commissioned to expand and remodel the terminals, and rehabilitate the runways and parking lots, among other interventions.
According to OSITRAN data (as of January 2023), accumulated investments in airport infrastructure development reached US$ 588 million, in charge of the concession companies: Lima Airport Partner (LAP), Aeropuertos del Perú and Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú. Of this total, LAP has been recognized for approximately US$ 377 million, Aeropuertos del Perú US$ 141 million and Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú US$ 69 million.
In the case of LAP, according to figures provided by the company itself, from the beginning of the concession (2001) until the end of 2022, it would have invested a total of US$ 1,234 million. In 2022, it would have invested US$ 316 million in the Jorge Chavez International Airport Expansion Project (known as NewLIM) and almost US$ 15 million in the current terminal. "The total investment to be made in the Airport Expansion Project will be more than US$ 2,000 million," commented Milagros Montes, manager of Regulation and Public Affairs at LAP.
In the Second Group of Airports, US$ 126 million are in the works contracting stage, US$ 156 million are in the engineering stage and US$ 360 million are in pre-investment studies.
The PPP concession has made it possible to modernize the country's airport infrastructure, improving the quality of service, increasing connectivity and boosting productive, commercial (export and import) and service activities, especially those related to tourism activities: the flow of tourists in collective lodging establishments tripled in 15 years, from just over 26 million in 2005 to 83 million in 2019 (pre-pandemic year), while the number of lodging establishments increased from more than 9.6 thousand in 2005 to 23.6 thousand in 2019. This also benefited tourist centers, restaurants, museums, among others, generating significant foreign exchange income.
The concessions also helped to sufficiently meet the increased demand from users and, therefore, the increase in the number of flights. For example, in the case of Jorge Chavez International Airport, the number of flights increased from 61 thousand flights in 2001 to 198 thousand flights in 2019, and the number of passengers multiplied six (6) times in the same period (from 4 to 24 million per year).
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
Investments have also enabled compliance with international standards - as is the case with LAP - in relation to the time services are provided and the size of passenger spaces (public departure hall, international boarding pass control, migrations), according to a study conducted by IATA in 2019.
In the case of regional airports, investments in both concessions and operational efficiencies have improved the quality of their services. Thus, for example, the airports of Trujillo, Pucallpa, Tarapoto and Tacna have complied with the service levels of Public Departure Hall and Check-In in accordance with international standards and this has helped to maintain the perception of airport service at high levels.
In that sense, the PPP mechanism gives sustainability to airport operations, connecting Peruvians internally, and with the rest of the world: by the end of 2022, Jorge Chavez International Airport reached more than 8 destinations compared to 2019 and has connected 6 more destinations compared to 2021, having in total 36 international destinations in America and Europe.
REVENUES FOR THE GOVERNEMNT
In the case of LAP, it transferred to the Government more than S/ 4,900 million between 2001 and 2021; in 2019 (pre-pandemic) it transferred almost S/ 528 million and in 2021 more than S/ 245 million. According to the concession contract, about half of the revenues from port operations are transferred to the Government and are used for different purposes, such as land expropriation and other interventions in the provincial airports.
On the regional airports, until 2019, the Second Group of Regional Airports has not required co-financing to cover the cost of its operations, even generating a surplus in favor of the Peruvian Government; while the co-financing of the First Group of Regional Airports was reduced to 3.8% of total revenues in 2019, although it then increased to 12% in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Source: Press Release - PROINVERSION