Expresso Aeroporto (Airport Express) obtains preliminary permit
Valor Economic 04/16/2009
The project of the Expresso Aeroporto (Airport Express), the train that will connect downtown São Paulo to the Guarulhos airport, received its preliminary permit on Tuesday. The inclusion of the permit in the bidding rules is another item of safety for the investor and it was a commitment undertaken by the State Government of São Paulo towards the companies. The other permits - installation's and operation's - will be under the responsibility of the future concessionaire. The publication of the bidding rules, which at first was announced for September of last year, is now foreseen for the end of this month.
In the beginning of April, the São Paulo regional management of the Secretariat of the Federal Heritage authorized the use of the area of the Guarulhos airport for the construction of the train station. The access to the line will be made through the airport parking lot and there will be a moving walkway to help the traffic of passengers. The environmental feasibility study foresees the control of the origin of the wood to be used and the level of dust around the work. Among the compensatory measures are the planting of native trees in the Tietê Park. According to the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CTPM), the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Train Company, responsible for the project, since the train will use part of the current infrastructure of one of its lines, the environmental impact is going to be minimized. The permit is also good for the construction of the 13-Jade train line, which will travel alongside the line of the Expresso and will be operated by the CPTM, an investment of R$ 303 million (US$ 137.7 million). The Expresso Aeroporto will be granted to the private initiative for 32 years, and the winning company will be the one offering the highest grant value - payment to the Government for the right to have the concession - considering a ceiling-fee of R$ 35 (US$ 16). It will be R$ 1.4 billion (US$ 636.4 million) in investment and the works are expected to last three years.