#other countries The Cape Verdean government and the French airport management group Vinci signed on Monday the concession contract for four international airports and three airports in the archipelago for the next 40 years.
The opposition has denounced the project because of its duration – 40 years – and also because the company was chosen by “direct agreement», that is, without conducting competition for potential franchisees. The opposition was not consulted and it was judged that the state had implemented a procedure to grant the decision “opaque».
“We will be your partner (…) to develop positive mobility that creates wealth and respects our planet»told Cape Verdean residents Nicolas Notbert, CEO of Vinci Airports Group.
“The Yenchi airport network now includes eight airports in Brazil, ten in Portugal and seven in Cape Verde, and Portuguese is now the most spoken language in the Yenchi concessions.»he added.
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Vinci will pay the Cape Verde state, for an initial period of 40 years, €80 million in two installments, €35 million paid immediately, and €45 million upon taking on the same level of movement as in 2019.
The Vinci Group will also have to pay a percentage of its total income annually to Cape Verde and provide investments of 619 million euros during this period. It will also handle the majority of employees working in airports.
Located off the coast of Senegal, the Cape Verde archipelago consists of volcanic islands and sunny beaches, and is very popular with tourists.
But its economy, which is 25% dependent mainly on European tourism and also depends on remittances from the large diaspora and development aid, has been hit hard by the coronavirus. The pandemic has exacerbated the economic effects of a worsening drought in recent years.
