Tocumen will begin the concession process for regional airports with the Colón terminal, the only one that does not register a regular commercial operation, despite the fact that in the 2009-2014 period more than 58 million dollars were invested in its remodeling.
Last year, Tocumen hired the consulting firm ALG to analyze the state of the Río Hato, Colón, Panamá Pacífico and David airports, and determine what concession model could be used to reverse the economic losses that the corporation records annually due to operations of the regional terminals
According to Tocumen, since 2018 the four airports are causing an annual loss of 1.5 million dollars, after their combined expenses reach 10 million dollars, while their income stood at 8.5 million dollars.
Raffoul Arab, manager of Tocumen SA, pointed out that the consultancy showed that an administrative concession would be the most appropriate model for the Enrique Jiménez de Colón terminal.
He points out that the operator that is selected will be in charge of finding the most appropriate business niche for the Colón airport and its corresponding marketing to attract airlines.
“The airport seems to have a greater vocation in cargo handling and support for the logistics conglomerate. Likewise, it is estimated that it will have the potential to complement the transit of “cruise” passengers, with the movement of shopping tourism in the Colon Free Zone”.
At the end of March, the shipping company Norwegian Cruise announced that from November 24 to March 21, 2023, it will carry out 19 itineraries to and from the ports of Colón 2000 and the new terminal located on Perico Island, on the Amador Causeway.
Arab announced that the selection process of the company that will be in charge of the administration of the Colón airport will be carried out in the second half of this year, while processes for the other three terminals are projected for 2023.
He indicated that unlike Colón, for Río Hato and David a concession could be used under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.
Directors of the consulting firm ALG have indicated that the objective is for these airports to operate with their own resources and pointed out that the concession model has been effective in the region.
Last year the regional airports handled 139 thousand 75 passengers, of which 132 thousand used the Enrique Malek airport, in the province of Chiriquí.
“The studies indicate that the Enrique Malek airport, in David, and the Scarlett Martínez airport, in Río Hato, could be developed focused on the tourism market because they are located in tourist destinations,” explained Arab.
For its part, the Panama Pacifico terminal, as the alternate airport in the event of a closure of Tocumen, will continue to be controlled by the state corporation and will continue to focus on the low-cost airline market.
