Master Plan – Main Investiments
Given the need of improvements to the airport transportation system in Brazil, in order to meet increased passenger demand, by the end of the concession GRU Airport will have invested approximately 4.5 billion (real value, at 2012 prices, not including accumulated inflation over time) in infrastructure to increase the airport´s capacity from 30 million to approximately 60 million passengers per year, and also improve safety, service quality and implement new technology.
The first large construction project completed by GRU Airport was the garage building, in May 2013. The eight floors building is comprised of 84,000 square meters and can hold 2,664 vehicles. It is equipped with a modern electronic parking managing system that controls and indicates available parking spaces. It also offers electronic payment kiosks and flight information panels.
Approximately 6,000 square meters were added to Terminal 2, which now offers a larger X-ray area for domestic boarding, a new food court with nine stores at check-in D – at departure level, and on arrival a Duty Free store almost twice as big as before.
The remote boarding area, for flights that require bus transport to the aircraft, has also been expanded. The international boarding area increased from 445 to 650 square meters and the domestic boarding area from 400 to 650 square meters. A gate was added to the six existing ones in both areas. With the remodeling, this area can now be converted into a single boarding area, for international or domestic passengers, as required. Two new bathrooms were also added.
After one year and seven months of construction, the new Passenger Terminal – TPS3 – at GRU Airport, began operations on May 11th, 2014, with an initial capacity for 12 million passengers per year. Geared to international flights, Terminal 3 is comprised of 192,000 square meters and equipment with state-of-the-art technology equivalent to that of the best airports in the world. With the completion of TPS3, the Concessionaire ended the first phase of the construction project eliminating one of the airport‘s main bottlenecks.
Modeled after the most modern airports in Asia and Europe, Terminal 3 is divided into two five floors buildings. The first is reserved for receiving and processing passengers, including check-in, X-ray, passport control, customs and baggage claim areas, while the second is a pier fitted with 20 boarding bridges for aircraft access. The TPS3 building complex includes road access and two aprons for 34 aircrafts.
In order to offer more options to the public, especially food activity, the Concessionaire also intensified improvements in the commercial area, increasing the number of stores from 102 to 144 in Terminals 1, 2 and 4. With the inauguration of Terminal 3, the airport now has 250 stores, offering food, clothing and accessories.
Related to this, another important achievement is the renovation of the contract with Dufry, doubling its store size at Arrival in Terminal 2. An agreement was also made with a hotel company, to operate and manage an 80-bedroom hotel inside Terminal 3 for international passengers in transit. Another 360-bedroom hotel in front of TPS3 is planned for 2016.
In October 2013, GRU Airport received approval from Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) to operate another aircraft apron, Apron 9. Comprised of 69,000 square meters, the new area brought an additional 13 Class E aircraft stands. In October 2014, the concessionaire started working on the runway system for code F certification, so that by the end of 2016 it can start receiving the largest aircrafts in the world.
After the completion of Terminal 3, GRU Airport began the retrofit project of Terminals 1 and 2 in October 2014, which should be completed by the second semester of 2016. The goal is to enhance operational efficiency, bring more comfort to our users and offer an adequate mix of commercial establishments with more food and shopping options. Comprised of seven phases, the project will expand key areas of the airport such as: check-in, baggage claim and arrival and departure areas.
One of the main changes in the project will be a centralized x-ray area for carry-on luggage and passenger metal detection inspection. Terminals 1 and 2 currently have three areas for domestic and international flights. The idea is that passengers will access the boarding area through a single entry point and then go to the gate of their flight. Making things easier for the passenger, with only one access point instead of three.