Grupo Argos, has signed a purchase agreement for the acquisition of 30% of the shares in Opain S.A., a concessionary company engaged in the administration, operation, commercial exploitation, maintenance, upgrade, and expansion of the passenger and cargo terminals at El Dorado International Airport in the city of Bogotá (Colombia).

At present, Odinsa, a Grupo Argos subsidiary specializing in airport and road concessions, holds 35% of the shares in Opain, which, added to this 30%, will give Grupo Argos control of this asset and thereby position it as an important player in the airport concessions business in the region.

El Dorado International Airport is the third biggest in Latin America in terms of numbers of passengers, after the airports of Mexico City and Sao Paulo, transporting more than 30 million people per year. Currently, it is the region's largest in terms of cargo transportation, with a volume of 670 thousand tons per year. The passenger and cargo terminal concession has an area of 200,000 square meters.

The transaction totaled COP480 billion (US$151 million), to be paid in two installments. A first payment of 50% to be made when the deal is closed, and the remaining 50% to be settled in May 2017. 

Jorge Mario Velásquez, CEO of Grupo Argos, said:

“Consolidating one of the major airport concessions in the region is an important step in the materialization of Grupo Argos's strategy as an infrastructure parent company. As a long-term player, we see in the development of airport infrastructure in our country an opportunity that, hand in hand with the other actors that form part of the El Dorado International Airport aviation system, will allow us to support growth and improve the level of service at this terminal, which belongs to Bogotá and to all Colombians.”

“We trust that the investments that were announced by the Civil Aeronautics to implement cutting-edge air transport technologies, along with the other airport upgrade and expansion technologies undertaken by Opain, will be the basis for the consolidation of a harmonious and more robust system with high service standards, given that air traffic in Latin America is estimated to double in the next two decades.”