The Minister of National Defense, Javier García, participated in Rivera in the act in which the company Corporación América Airports took charge of the management of the international airport of Rivera, Oscar Gestido.
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The works will begin in 2023, will require 13,000,000 dollars, will generate 150 direct jobs and will contribute to increasing connectivity with Brazil.
The act was also attended by the Minister of Tourism, Tabaré Viera; the Undersecretary of Defense, Rivera Elgue; the national director of Civil Aviation and Aeronautical Infrastructure (Dinacia), Gaetano Battagliese, and the mayor of Rivera, Richard Sander, among other national and departmental authorities. The directors of the América Airports Corporation, led by Martín Eurenkian, also participated.
In his speech, García highlighted that Rivera is the second terminal of the National System of International Airports that will be managed by the company that manages the airports of Carrasco and Punta del Este, after receiving, in 2021, the concession to direct and modernize the Rivera terminals. , Salto, Carmelo, Durazno, Melo and Paysandú.
The initiative is part of the plan for the development and updating of the National Airport System, promoted by the Executive Branch to strengthen Uruguay's connectivity with the region. To this end, the company will allocate 67,000,000 dollars in direct investment, operation and maintenance expenses.
García pointed out that airport policy is constructed as a State policy. In this sense, he pointed out that in 2003, during the presidency of Jorge Batlle, work began on the new Carrasco airport; then, during the mandate of José Mujica, the concession terms of that terminal were extended and, later, in 2020, Tabaré Vázquez submitted to the Legislative Power the bill that established the National System of International Airports. The current administration, he recalled, promoted a regulatory decree in which the terminals that made up the system were included.
The hierarch praised the association between the State and private companies and announced immediate consequences. Likewise, he assured that some 13,000,000 dollars will be invested in the riverense airport, which will mean the generation of 150 direct jobs. The intervention will also lay the foundations for an improvement in connectivity with the region, in particular with Brazil, domestic flights and a contribution to decentralization, he described. ■