Cape Verde and Vinci Airports have signed a concession contract for seven airports across the country, including four international airports – in the capital city Praia, Sal, São Vicente and Boa Vista – and three domestic airports in São Nicolau, São Filipe and Maio.
Vinci Airports and its Portuguese subsidiary ANA will be responsible for financing, operating, maintaining, extending and upgrading the airports over a 40-year period. The financial arrangements for the project are expected to be finalized by mid-2023, when the new concession company will begin operating the airports. Vinci Airports aims to support Cape Verde’s tourism strategy through a project tailored to suit each airport (factoring in different passenger segments and island-specific considerations). The archipelago’s cultural identity will be reflected in the architecture and customer experiences at the airports. Furthermore, Vinci Airports plans to implement its environmental action plan, which involves developing solar and wind power.
The country’s air traffic rose by an average of 5.6% each year between 2010 and 2019, with passenger numbers reaching 2.8 million. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic affecting most tourist destinations worldwide, air traffic reached 80% of 2019 levels in the period between April and July 2022. Ulisses Correia e Silva, the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, and Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of Vinci Concessions and president of Vinci Airports, signed the concession contract for seven airports in the Cape Verde archipelago.
Notebaert said, “We are very proud to announce this partnership with the Republic of Cape Verde. Our shared vision is to boost the country’s tourism industry through a long-term growth strategy. Improving the airports’ links and performance will have a positive impact on the country. Vinci Airports is deeply committed to helping the Cape Verde archipelago realize its full potential over the course of this long-term partnership.”
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