VINCI Airports has closed a financial agreement for the acquisition of seven airports in Cape Verde, taking into account that the conditions of the concession contract signed in July 2022 with the government of Cape Verde have been fulfilled.
The concessionaire has received €60 million in financing from three development banks: World Bank-IFC, Proparco (France) and DEG (Germany), with a 20-year term. The financing is certified under the Sustainability Linked Financing (SLF) framework.
To achieve certification, two sustainability targets were established: one for the gradual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and another from the Airport Carbon Accreditation program. This is one of the first such financing arrangements for VINCI Airports and the first time that IFC, Proparco and DEG have financed airports through an SLF.
Achieving the financing was an important milestone for the Cape Verde airports whose operations will now be taken over by VINCI Airports. The concessionaire will be responsible for financing, operating, maintaining, expanding and modernizing these airports over the next four decades, together with its Portuguese subsidiary (ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal), which will hold a 30% stake in the concession company.
In 2022, 2.2 million passengers were mobilized to and from Cape Verde, approximately 80% of the total number of travelers in 2019. VINCI Airports will be committed to opening new routes by promoting the archipelago’s eye-catching features to tourists. The concessionaire will also implement an environmental action plan that includes the development of renewable energy production at the airports.
VINCI Airports will take over more than 300 workers from the Cape Verde airports’ teams and integrate them, in particular by providing ongoing training programs, sharing operational practices and promoting women’s careers.
The integration of the Cape Verde airports consolidates VINCI Airports’ position as the world’s leading private operator in its sector, with 72 airports in 13 countries.
Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and President of VINCI Airports, stated: “We are proud of the trust placed in us by the Government of Cape Verde, which has entrusted VINCI Airports with the responsibility of supporting the country’s tourism growth while ensuring the environmental transformation of the airports. We warmly welcome our new colleagues to the network and look forward to getting down to work.”
See also: Recovery: VINCI Airports’s terminals traffic doubles in 2022 compared to 2021
