Vinci Airports has secured €60m (US$66m) in financing for the acquisition of seven airports in Cabo Verde.
The financing, maturing over 20 years, comes from three development banks: World Bank-IFC, Proparco (France) and DEG (Germany) and is certified under the sustainability-linked financing (SLF) framework. To secure certification, Vinci set two sustainability targets – one involving a progressive reduction in CO2 emissions, the other involving the Airport Carbon Accreditation program. This is one of Vinci Airports’ very first financing arrangements of this kind, and the first time IFC, Proparco and DEG have financed airports through an SLF.
Vinci Airports has now taken over the operation of these airports, which it will fund, operate, maintain, extend and modernize over the next 40 years, alongside its Portuguese subsidiary (ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal), which will hold 30% of the concession company.
According to the company, Cabo Verde welcomed 2.2 million passengers in 2022, approximately 80% of the total in 2019, and has solid potential. Vinci Airports will open new routes by promoting the archipelago’s features for tourists, including its expanding hospitality sector, a wide choice of sports activities and natural surroundings, and sunny winters. Vinci Airports will also roll out an environmental action plan including the development of renewable energy production at airports.
Vinci Airports is taking over the 300 employees on the teams at the airports in Cabo Verde and will integrate them, as well as introducing lifelong learning programs, sharing operational best practices and fostering women‘s careers.
Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of Vinci Concessions and president of Vinci Airports, said, “We are proud of the confidence placed in us by the Cape Verdean government, which has entrusted Vinci Airports with the responsibility of supporting the country’s growth in tourism while ensuring the environmental transformation of airports. We warmly welcome our new colleagues to the network and look forward to getting to work.”
To find out more about Vinci Airports’ latest developments, click here.