In July, Ineco attended the working group session titled ‘The Benefits of Galileo for Precision Agriculture’, which was held at the Galileo Information Centre in Brazil. Carmen Martín and Eva Ramírez, from the Sub-Directorate for Aerospace Systems, took part as panellists and contributed to the subsequent round table discussion.

Ineco is part of the consortium responsible for the centre in Brazil, which was opened in 2019, as well as the consortium for the centre in Mexico, which was opened in June (see IT72). The European Commission provides funding for information centres in different countries in order to raise awareness of Galileo and its applications outside the EU.

In 2010, the Brazilian government adopted a concession model through international public tendering to manage its airports, which up to that time had been managed by the state-owned enterprise, Infraero. The entity was in charge of the country’s 63 main airports, accounting for 97% of the national aviation business. The first lot was awarded in 2011 and the fifth and most recent was awarded to Aena Internacional in March 2019 for a period of 30 years, consisting of a group of six airports in the Northeast Region of the country: Recife, Maceió, João Pessoa, Aracaju, Campina Grande and Juazeiro do Norte, which in 2018 accounted for 13.7 million passengers.

Ineco provided Aena Internacional with specialised technical support during the entire process prior to the bid and the handover preparation period that will end in early 2020. This means that the Spanish operator, the world’s largest in terms of passenger volume –more than 280 million in total– will now manage a total of 23 airports in five countries: twelve in Mexico, one in the United Kingdom, two in Colombia, two more in Jamaica and six in Brazil. It also operates the 46 airports and two heliports in the Spanish network, through which more than 263 million passengers passed in 2018.

Airports, the key to tourism

The Northeast Region of Brazil is one of the country’s five geographic regions, and it contains 9 of the 26 federal states:  Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão,
Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe, all of which are on the Atlantic coast. With some 50 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous region after the Southeast, with 77 million, where the large urban centres of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are located.

The Northeast is the most-visited tourist region in the country: the states of Bahia and Pernambuco receive the most visitors, specifically, as sun and beach destinations. Tourism is predominantly domestic, with international tourism yet to achieve its full potential for development: compared to 36.6 million domestic vacationers in 2018, the country received only 6.6 million foreign visitors, a figure that the federal government would like to double by 2021.

Improving airport infrastructure and management is key to achieving this goal, especially considering that Brazil is also the third largest domestic air market in the world, according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

The airports in detail

Location of the six airports managed by Aena in Brazil.

1. Recife

Recife-Guararapes International Airport (officially Gilberto Freyre International Airport) is the eighth largest airport in Brazil by traffic volume: in 2018, 8,422,566 passengers and 55,838 tons of cargo passed through it. It is located 11 kilometres south of the city of Recife, the capital of the state of Pernambuco. It has a 3,000-metre runway and a passenger terminal that covers 52,000 square metres, in addition to a car park with 2,000 spaces.

Recife is the fourth largest city in Brazil: it has a population of 1.6 million, or 4 million in the entire metropolitan area made up of 13 towns. It has the country’s largest technological park, called Porto Digital (Digital Port) and the third largest port complex, including a major shipyard that is the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Tourism is another one of the pillars of the economy of Recife. Established in the sixteenth century, it is one of the oldest cities in Brazil and one of the main destinations for both the domestic and international tourism markets. In 2018, it received 3.3 million visitors, accounting for more than half of the state’s total tourism. The spectacular beaches of its coastline, which are home to the coral reefs that give it its name, the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, are considered a paradise for scuba diving enthusiasts, and celebrations such as Carnival and the Saint John festivals in June, are some of its principal tourist attractions.

2. Maceió

Zumbi dos Palmares de Maceió International Airport began operations in 1928, with a capacity for only six aircraft. In 2005, a major expansion project was carried out that involved the construction of a new 22,000 m² passenger terminal and the lengthening of its runway, which now measures 2,601 metres long by 45 metres wide. The main destinations are Guarulhos, Galeão, Recife, Campinas and Brasilia, and, in 2018, it registered a record 2,179,230 passengers, 5.4% more than in 2017.

Maceió is the capital of the state of Alagoas and has a population of 1.1 million inhabitants. Its economy is based on commerce, agriculture, especially the cultivation of sugar cane, and industries such as chemicals and food and the extraction of natural gas and oil, among others. It is also the third most visited national tourist destination for sun and beach holidays.

3. João Pessoa

João Pessoa-Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport is 12 kilometres from the city centre. In 2018, it handled 1,414,896 passengers, according to data from Infraero. It has a 2,515-metre-long runway and a 9,000-square-metre terminal, with parking for 600 vehicles.

João Pessoa is the capital and main financial and economic centre of the state of Paraíba. It has just over 800,000 inhabitants, and 1.2 million if the 11 municipalities of the metropolitan area are counted. Commerce and, above all, sun and beach tourism are the most important economic sectors, and it also boasts an outstanding heritage of well-preserved Baroque buildings, such as the sixteenth-century Convent of Saint Francis, now converted into a cultural centre. The entire old town has been listed as a national heritage site. According to data provided by the state government of Paraíba, the city, the easternmost city in the country, is ranked the 10th most visited in Brazil.

4. Aracaju

Located 12 kilometres from the city centre, Aracaju-Santa María International Airport handled 1.1 million passengers in 2018. In addition to regular flights, it also operates helicopter flights that transfer personnel to the oil rigs off the coast of Sergipe and Alagoas. The runway measures 2,200 metres in length and the passenger terminal covers 9,321 square metres, with 199 parking spaces.

The city of Aracaju, capital of the state of Sergipe, has a population of almost 649,000 people. Its economy is based on services and industry. Regarding tourism, the city and its surrounding area offer high-quality hotels and infrastructure, but the influx of visitors is less than in other areas. The city has a popular Oceanarium that receives 120,000 visitors a year.

5. Juazeiro do Norte

Orlando Bezerra de Menezes Airport is located 6 kilometres from the city of Juazeiro do Norte in the Cariri region, south of the state of Ceará. In 2018, it recorded 563,895 passengers, representing an increase of 3.96% compared to the previous year, and 1,567 tons of air cargo. It has a 1,940-metre-long runway and a 1,000-square-metre terminal, with parking for 230 vehicles.

The city of Juazeiro do Norte, with a population of approximately 272,000 people, is the second most important city in the state and one of its main industrial and commercial centres. It particularly stands out for its footwear industry, which is highly significant throughout Brazil and especially in the Northeast Region, which accounts for 48.8% of national production, more than 85% of which goes to the domestic market. Juazeiro is part of a group of nine municipalities in which around 300 companies from the sector are concentrated.

Much of the city’s tourism is religious and closely linked to the origins of the city, which was founded by a Catholic priest named Father Cicero, to whom a miracle was attributed in the late nineteenth century, as a result of which 2.5 million pilgrims visit the city every year to venerate its founder and patron saint. Religious tourism, mostly Catholic, but also evangelical and other denominations, is the fastest growing segment in Brazil, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism, and generates 8.1 million trips every year within the country.

Another important sector in Juazeiro do Norte is ecotourism related to the protected areas of the Araripe Plateau –a national forest, nature reserve and geological park– where, among other Cretaceous remains, the highest concentration of pterosaur (flying dinosaur) fossils in the world has been found.

6. Campina Grande

Campina Grande-Presidente João Suassuna Airport, in the state of Paraíba, accounted for 168,278 passengers in 2018, 11.98% more than in 2017, the fourth largest percentage increase of Brazil’s 53 main airports. Located 6 kilometres from the city centre, it operates regional and national and general aviation flights, as well as some military training flights. The runway measures 1,600 metres and the passenger terminal has an area of 2,500 square metres with parking for 203 vehicles.

The city of Campina Grande has a population of 407,472 inhabitants, according to official 2018 figures, which increases to more than 638,000 if the 19 municipalities of the metropolitan area are counted. Its main economic activities are mineral extraction, software development, commerce, agriculture, livestock, processing industries and services. The city also hosts one of the most well-attended festivals in Brazil: the festival of Saint John (Gran São João do Mundo), which is held during the month of June and brings together around a million people every year.

The São Paulo Metropolitan Railway Company CPTM, a company linked to the Secretariat of Metropolitan Transport of the State of São Paulo (STM), is continuing with its project to expand the city’s Line 13, known as Jade, a 12.2-kilometre route that will connect the city centre with Guarulhos International Airport and is expected to carry 130,000 passengers every weekday. The Chinese-Brazilian consortium Temoinsa-Sifang is manufacturing eight new trains for this line which are specially designed with extra space for transporting the luggage of future users. The manufacture in China and the delivery and assembly of the trains is being carried out under the supervision of the CS8T Spanish-Brazilian consortium made up of Ineco, Ineco do Brasil, EBEI and MetroEng.

The rolling stock, which is being manufactured at CRRC Sifang’s facilities, was purchased by the State Government of São Paulo in September 2017 for 316.7 million reales with 85 million euros of financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB). With each train equipped with eight carriages, this fleet will provide shuttle services between São Paulo’s International Airport, the largest in Latin America, and the city of São Paulo.

In January 2019, a team of Ineco technicians travelled to the facilities of CRRC Sifang –a public railway manufacturer based in Qingdao, China– to oversee the delivery of the first train in the 2500 series. The rolling stock is very much in line with the latest acquisitions of STM/CPTM, which feature distributed traction and steel boxes, and complementing the recent deliveries of 30 Hyundai trains and 35 trains from the Spanish company CAF, both also financed by the EIB. This will give CPTM a more modern and versatile fleet, which will be put into service over the next two years. After disembarking at the Port of Santos, the new rolling stock is transported by road to CPTM’s facilities for dynamic track testing.

The assembly of the eight trains in CRRC Sifang’s factory is slated for completion in the first months of 2020, and CPTM will then continue with the acceptance and commissioning of the vehicles, which must be completed by the beginning of 2022.

The work of the CS8T Consortium includes reviewing the vehicle design and supervising static and dynamic testing, which will be ongoing both at the factory and on the track until the trains are put into service. To this end, Ineco technicians are carrying out manufacturing inspection activities at CRRC Sifang’s facilities and static and dynamic testing both at the factory in Qingdao and at CPTM’s facilities in Presidente Altino, São Paulo. A team of technicians from Ineco has also carried out a design review from its offices in Spain.

The supervisors have to make sure from the outset that the assembled rolling stock meets the technical specifications and needs of CPTM. They also need to have a detailed knowledge of international and Brazilian railway regulations, as well as the regulations that apply to each of the main and auxiliary elements of the structure –boxes, axles, wheels, etc.– equipment and systems: traction, braking, train safety, passenger information, driving, emergency, etc. The supervision process must guarantee reliability and the technical compatibility of all elements.

Ineco has extensive expertise in this field, as well as professionals with specific knowledge of each of the components that make it possible for a train to operate safely and comfortably for users. This experience extends to all varieties of rolling stock from all suppliers: Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Siemens, etc.

Aena Internacional has been announced by the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) as the winning bidder of the 30-year concession tender for the Northeast Brazil airport group, consisting of six airports (Recife, Maceió, Joao Pessoa-Bayeux, Aracajú, Juazeiro do Norte and Campina Grande). Ineco collaborated with Aena on the preparation of the bid.

The Northeast airport group recorded passenger traffic of more than 13 million in 2018, 6.5% of the total traffic in Brazil.

Everything in Brazil is enormous: its territory, the fifth largest on the planet; the largest hydrographical basin –the Amazon River and its thousands of tributaries–
covering half of the country; and its economy, the ninth most powerful in the world.

It is the world’s leading producer of coffee and sugar cane, the fourth largest of wood and one of the largest soybean producers, which attracts numerous multinational companies from the agri-food and biofuels industries; the agricultural sector represents just 5% of GDP, but it accounts for 40% of exports. Brazil also has a powerful industrial sector that contributes a quarter of GDP. It produces oil, aluminium and coal, and its textile, aeronautics, pharmaceutical, automotive, steel and chemical industries are also very important.

All of these goods travel through a network of 1.5 million kilometres of roads, 29,000 kilometres of railways, 32 public ports and 128 private ports, more than 4,000 airports and aerodromes and a network of 28,400 kilometres of waterways , including cabotage (coastal navigation) routes.

The federal government’s objective is to plan the considerable investment required by this immense transport network as effectively as possible in order to reduce logistics costs and thus increase the country’s competitiveness. To this end, it has launched the National Transport and Logistics Observatory (ONTL) through the public entity EPL (Empresa de Planejamento e Logistica), part of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Brazil, with which Ineco has collaborated.

Thanks to the ONTL, planners –and the general public– can consult the website www.ontl.epl.gov.br/index.php at any time for invaluable information to facilitate the decision-making process when it comes to optimising investment in infrastructure. For example, if data indicates that agricultural production, a type of large volume freight, is increasing, how can the waterway and port network be strengthened to transport it more cheaply and sustainably? And when improving the road network, in which regions has the demand for transport increased the most? How does the evolution of the country’s economy influence logistics costs?

These are just some examples of the usefulness of a transport observatory, an entity that more and more countries, including Spain, are creating, and which also collects very useful data provided by satellite tracking systems on the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, information on fuel prices or the production of all kinds of goods, freight and passenger movements, tariffs and freight costs behaviour, average transport costs, macroeconomic indicators, etc. All of this data is provided by both large companies in the country and the different departments and public bodies of federal and state government that participate in the observatory, and is then processed and organised for easy consultation on the website.

The ONTL is the result of cooperation between the governments of Spain and Brazil, which have maintained close economic relations since the 1990s, with strong investment flows between both countries. Collaboration on transport infrastructure has crystallised in the signing of multiple agreements since 2012. As a result, in 2014, Ineco carried out a study to calculate transport costs on Brazil’s waterways. With the ONTL, Ineco transmits the knowledge it has
accumulated since 2013 in the Observatory that it designed and runs for the Spain’s Ministry of Public Works.

The Brazilian observatory gathers data from more than 50 sources of information supplied by numerous agents related to infrastructure, operations, security, financing and other key aspects of the Brazilian transport and logistics system: airport authorities and concessionaires, ports and roads, ministries and governmental entities, the police, merchant marine, sectoral associations and large public and private companies that represent the principal industrial sectors (oil, aeronautics, mining, automotive, etc.). All of these sources generate valuable knowledge that is disseminated in work sessions, specialised workshops and seminars, data panels, an annual newsletter, etc. and is collected on the website for consultation.

As in the case of the Spanish observatory, Ineco designed the information collection and processing system and the database and website, which is open to both sector agents and the general public. It has also developed a set of indicators which serve to harmonise data from different sources and facilitate the analysis of information and its dissemination.

The São Paulo Metropolitan Railway Company (CPTM) has awarded a consortium made up of Ineco, Ineco do Brasil, EBEI and MetroEng the contract for supervision and technical assistance in the manufacture and supply of eight new trains for Line 13 of the CPTM, which will connect São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport with the city. Guarulhos is Latin America’s busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic.

The consortium led by Ineco, together with the Brazilian engineering company EBEI, will continue to support the mixed-capital company DERSA (Desenvolvimiento Rodoviário S.A. in which the State of São Paulo is a shareholder) in the coordination of contracts and the different agencies that take part in the ring road works in São Paulo, known as Rodoanel Mário Covas, which opened in 2002. The conclusion of work on the north section, anticipated for late 2018, will mark the completion of the 177 kilometre ring road around the city which has a daily traffic of 65,000 vehicles.

The last north section, which is 43.86 kilometres long, is the most complex due to its location, since it is limited in the north by the Sierra de Cantareira Forest Reserve and in the south by the residential zones in the São Paulo metropolitan area. The current alignment lies between the hillsides of the Sierra de Cantareira and the borders of the urban landscape of São Paulo. It is designed for a maximum speed of 100 km/h, it has three and four lanes, depending on the area; it has also required the construction of seven tunnels and 111 bridges and viaducts. Among other activities, Ineco coordinates the project planning, expropriations and environmental actions.

In the picture, Ineco engineers José L. Pancorbo and José Isidro Díaz, general coordinator of the consortium office.