Brazil to privatize airports in Rio and Belo Horizonte

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Thursday announced that airports in Rio and Belo Horizonte, two host cities for the 2014 World Cup, would be privatized during a September 2013 auction. "International experience shows that airports are good business," Rousseff said, recalling that last February, 20-year concessions were granted to manage three airports: two in Sao Paulo and one in Brasilia. Brazil, a continent-sized country of 194 million people, is seeking to upgrade its creaking infrastructure ahead of the 2014 World Cup. The previously granted concessions, valued at a total of $14 billion, will upgrade congested terminals in preparation for handling the tens of thousands of tourists expected for the World Cup. Rousseff said Thursday that any private entities participating in the September auctions will have to include at least one international partner "with experience in running an airport handling at least 35 million passengers a year." This operator must have "at least a 25 percent stake" in the consortium. Civil Aviation Minister Wagner Bittencourt said the government hopes to raise $5.7 billion through the concessions: $3.3 billion for Rio's Tom Jobim airport and $2.4 billion for Belo Horizonte's Confins airport.