Brazil is auctioning off dozens of airports by end of 2022

Brazil is auctioning airports in what the government describes as a bid to raise investments and modernize infrastructure.

Sixteen airports will be auctioned — including Congonhas in São Paulo, and Santos Dumont in Rio de Janeiro — by the end of 2022, the government said in a tweet Wednesday.

They add to the 34 airports already auctioned by Brazil since 2019, which raised around 34 billion Brazilian real (US$ 6 billion), the government said.

“It is strategic for Brazil to transfer control of airports to the private sector in order to increase investments and the quality of services,” it added.

The auctions come as the global aviation industry grapples with the fallout of coronavirus travel bans. While there has been some recovery to the industry in other nations like the US and in Europe, Brazil’s aviation sector has felt the impact of being one of the hardest hit countries by the pandemic.

Brazil holds the second highest Covid-19 death toll in the world, second only to the United States. cnn.com