Sonae is interested in the management of Francisco Sá Carneiro airport (Porto). According to JN, the economic group, led by Paulo Azevedo, asked ANA (which manages the structures airport) of a file containing the equipment, with the aim of establishing a proposal. The interest was formalised more than two months ago, but so far ANA has not yet provided any information.
Among others, a plant of the structure was asked, which will be the instrument economic group to assess the commercial potential of the airport.
This has been, so far, the only national group to show interest in the management of the airport, at a time when the discussion on the future of the equipment is dominated by the dispute between ANA and Ryanair, carrier of "low cost" that asked - so far without success - special conditions to build a hub in Porto, ensuring another four million passengers.
What JN found with sources close to the process, it is very difficult for one Portuguese company to bear alone an application, because the know-how, in this respect, lives across borders. Therefore, it is more likely that one of the more realistic scenarios may pass by the formation of a Portuguese-international consortium that congregates various investments and technical knowledge.
Contacted by JN, Sonae refused to make any comment, but assured that they "will be the first to inform the market of stories that by their relevance or degree of certainty, so able to provide adequate information to investors and stakeholders of the Sonae Capital, and the general public. "
Even Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates agrees
The desire to privatize the management of the Airport Sá Carneiro has been shared by PS(Socialist Party), PSD(Social-Democrat Party), Metropolitan Board of Oporto and the Government itself. Even the Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, manifested himself in a meeting that remained at the beginning of last December with some ideas of the Northern Businessman favouring this scenario.
The Metropolitan Board of Porto went further and ordered even a study on the model of management at the School of Economics and consulting firm of Deloitte. Document which is already completed and will be presented to the mayors during this month.
Also, the Commercial Association of Porto, led by Rui Moreira, is doing lobby for privatization of the equipment, assuming, among other things, as "intermediary" between Ryanair and ANA in the discussion on the establishment of the company from "low cost" in the city Oporto.
The growing interest in the model of management of the airport should also be interpreted in the light of the numbers in 2007, the Sá Carneiro has more passengers than the three airports in Galicia together (Vigo, Santiago de Compostela and Corunna).
