EZEQUIEL BARRENECHEA Vice-President Tagsa

As Guayaquil and the Simón Bolívar International Airport both get makeovers, the city is ready to reap the benefits of increased traffic from tourism

N JULY of this year, Guayaquil will officially open one of the most modern and beautifully designed airport terminals in Latin America. The new terminal in the city’s Simón Bolívar International Airport marks a watershed moment for both the airport and Guayaquil as they look forward to a prosperous new era and to reaping the rewards for more than a decade of effort in city renewal. As Ezequiel Barrenechea, Vice-President of the airport’s operator, Tagsa, states, “When it is inaugurated, this airport project will be the biggest and the most modern in design and technology not only in all of Ecuador but among all Latin American terminals in its category.”

The new terminal represents the latest development in a series of changes and renovations at Guayaquil’s airport over the last six years. New national legislation in 2000 permitted city councils in Ecuador to take over the construction, management and operation of their own airports. Guayaquil was quick to take up the challenge, and that same year it founded the Airport Authority of Guayaquil (AAG) and gave it the mission of modernizing the city’s airport facilities.

AAG spent $15 million over the next three years upgrading the existing national and international terminals, and increasing their capacity to three million international passengers and a half million domestic passengers per year. In 2003, the agency opened the airport’s management and operation to bidders on a 15-year concession that included the stipulation that a new international terminal was to be constructed by the management team.

AAG spent $15 million over three years upgrading existing terminals and increasing passenger capacity.

A consortium of New York’s American International Airports (AIA), Argentina’s Corporación America S.A. (CASA) and the Ecuadorian Deller Group were chosen among the competitors and took up the concession in 2004 under the name of Tagsa (Guayaquil Airport Terminal). Although the new international terminal represents another successfully completed step in Mayor Nebot’s overall vision for Guayaquil, the airport’s growing regional status owes much to the skill and experience of its new management.

Corporación America, of which Mr. Barrenechea is also executive director, operates 35 airports in Argentina as well as two others in Uruguay and Armenia. AIA is a global investor in airport and aeronautical projects, and Deller Group is one of Ecuador’s most respected real estate development groups, as well as owners of shopping centers in Quito and Guayaquil. This combination of formidable experience with the consortium’s offer to contribute 50 percent of its earnings to Guayaquil’s development was a winning formula that AAG couldn’t refuse in the concession selection process.

“In Guayaquil, one of the most important factors in our winning the concession was the amount we offered to give to the municipality,” comments Mr. Barrenechea, who adds that Tagsa is currently providing Guayaquil with $16 million per year, making it the city’s largest tax payer. “Without a doubt, we are the private company that contributes most to the municipality. The fact is that we operate 37 airports in Latin America. We have the operational experience and technical resources that give us an enormous advantage over other competitors who want to enter the market.”

Representing an investment of over $90 million, the new international terminal has capacity for three million passengers per year and will operate 24 hours a day. It covers an area of 400,000 square feet, and boasts state-of-the-art airport technology and baggage-handling systems while employing some of the most advanced security systems in the world. This includes an integrated system of security and control of both passengers and cargo through restricted access areas, a closed circuit television system, document scanners, biometric fingerprint identification, an interactive photo database, facial and fingerprint imaging at check-in, and explosive device detectors, among many other features.

Mr. Barrenechea says, “Today technology has invaded what is airport security. In Guayaquil, we have implemented a system that is really innovative even among the world’s largest airports. There are very few airports that have an integrated biometric security system, with facial and biometric identification. In this, Guayaquil has not only caught up with but surpassed international security standards.”

With the new international terminal ready to go, Tagsa is working on converting the previous one into Guayaquil’s largest convention and exhibit center in line with Mayor Nebot’s drive to promote the city as an international business tourism destination. Mr. Barrenechea, who is optimistic about Guayaquil’s growth, says that Corporación America is in the city for the long haul and wants to continue investing there. “Corporación America, along with Deller Group, is contributing not only to the development of the airport and the new convention center but all of our future commercial development for northern Latin America will be based here,” he states, while making reference to the stability and legal framework that Guayaquil offers its investors.

“In Guayaquil, we have been very surprised by the municipal government in that it is one of the few governments in Latin America that pays attention to development. Here companies know beforehand that the rules were made to be respected. If you obey them, there won’t be any problems and you can develop side by side with the city.”