A much needed new airport has been given the go-ahead for a projected 2017 opening, along with simultaneous investment into expanding existing infrastructure, such as a new terminal at Sa Carneiro.

Consistently increasing numbers of travelers passing through Portugal’s seven main airports have boosted profits and consolidated development plans for non-aviation facilities

2005 was a good year for ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal. The company is in charge of managing Portugal’s seven main airports, namely Lisbon (Portela), Porto (Francisco Sá Carneiro), Faro, Ponta Delgada (João Paulo II), Santa Maria, Horta and Flores. The Portuguese airport company saw profit figures rise by 4 percent to €32.4 million compared to €31.2 million from the previous year. EBITDA increased to 17.9 percent, going up from €85.5 million in 2004 to €100.9 million in 2005. Similarly, turnover increased 10.4 percent to €243.4 million. Antonio Guilhermino Rodrigues, Chairman of ANA, explains, “Growth is owed to an increase in traffic, which is expected to further rise by eight percent within the set of airports that we manage. In this sense, analyses of trends in the civil aviation industry continue to confirm that air travel is a means of transportation in expansion.”

One of ANA’s focus points for sustainable growth is the development of non-aviation activities, with the objective of eventually making them overtake revenue produced by traditional aviation activities. As Mr. Rodrigues points out, “An airport is a transport interface. Due to this, it is a place with a large concentration of people inclined to want leisure facilities while they wait. Today, airports are places where people shop and eat, so there is an increasing demand for commercial real estate and airports must adapt to these new demands.” He adds, “The non-aviation businesses are generally revenues created in real estate and particularly commercial real estate. Look at it this way, airports are like shopping centers and so they generate revenue in just the same way.” Other revenue sources are associated with advertising, the renting of spaces and parking lots.

In line with ANA’s market-driven and results-oriented philosophy, a strategic plan comprising a broad program of five macro-projects called ICARO (Innovate, Communicate, Attain Results, Optimize) is being implemented. This plan aims to fulfill three main objectives: sustain profitable growth to maximize returns for the company’s shareholders whilst providing quality service, increase productivity, and finally to enhance workers’ skills.

ANTONIO GUILHERMINO RODRIGUES Chairman of ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal

In order to meet the consistent rise in the number of travelers passing through Portuguese airports, a few years ago ANA began the first phase of a massive project to rebuild and expand existing infrastructure. This led to the opening of the brand new state-of-the-art passenger terminal, and also the north bus gate at Sa Carneiro Airport in Oporto in 2005.

However, the second phase of this project is what currently has ANA working overtime. The star of this initiative is the much talked about and, considering passenger-growth trend projections towards 2020, greatly needed new airport for Lisbon. In fact, Lisbon’s new airport has already been approved and slated to open in 2017. In the meantime, striving to deal with demand and maintain quality of service, ANA has initiated an infrastructure development program and has earmarked approximately €550 million for it in investment funds for 2006-2010.

Mr. Rodrigues explains, “It is necessary to invest in Lisbon’s current airport, which has a capacity of 10 million passengers, so that it can increase its traffic until 2017. So, on the one hand we are investing in a new airport in Ota (Lisbon), and on the other we are at the same time investing in the existing Lisbon airport in order to increase its passenger capacity from 10 million to 16 million passengers a year.”

As a result of the huge amount of investment required to finance the new airport in Lisbon, ANA is set to be privatized this year. The company has its roots in the restructuring of the civil aviation landscape that took place in Portugal in 1998, and which entailed the splitting of the former state-owned Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea (ANA) into two distinct business entities: ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, and Navegação Aérea de Portugal, a company responsible for matters related to civil air traffic control. Furthermore, one of the models being assessed for the privatization includes the possibility of making the new main stakeholder of ANA the entity in charge of the new Lisbon Airport concession. However, ANA will not only offer investment opportunities in terms of its privatization plans, but also through various projects linked to the company’s infrastructure upgrade program, of which its latest initiative is the promotion of a public contest for an underground railway service between Lisbon and the airport.