A mix of local infrastructure developers and foreign airport operators won on Friday two airport concessions in Brazil for a combined R$ 20.8 billion (US$9 billion), paying a premium of more than 250 % over minimum bids.

Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht and Singapore's Changi Airport Group will have two years to expand Antônio Carlos Jobim (Galeão) airport before the city hosts the 2016 Olympics. The concession period is 25 years.

Brazil's CCR and the operators of airports in Zurich and Munich beat Queiroz Galvão and Spain's Ferrovial for the concession of Tancredo Neves (Confins) airport in Belo Horizonte. The concession period is 30 years.

Wellington Moreira Franco, Brazil's civil aviation secretary said:

"The result of the auction was exceptional. It proves the country is on steady footing and it's attracting great interest from foreign investors."

It was a welcome victory for President Dilma Rousseff, who has struggled to restore credibility with the private sector. The government had to call off auctions for a highway concession and a high speed rail project this year because of weak private-sector interest.

See below the list of bids for Antônio Carlos Jobim (Galeão) airport:

• Consórcio Aeroportos do Futuro: Odebrecht e TransPort (60%) and Singapore's Changi Airport Group (40%) -  bid of R$ 19,018 billion (US$8.38 billion). Almost four times the minimum bid.

• Consórcio Sócrates: Carioca Engenharia, GP Investimentos, Aéroports de Paris (ADP) and Schiphol - bid of R$ 14,5 billion (US$6.391 billion)

• Consórcio Novo Aeroporto Galeão: EcoRodovias and Fraport, each with 42,5%, and Invepar (14,99%) - bid of R$ 13,113 billion (US$5.78 billion)

• Consórcio AeroBrasil: CCR (75%), Flughafen Zurich AG (24%), and Munich Airport (1%) -  bid of R$ 10,350 billion (US$4.562 billion)

• Consórcio Aliança Atlântica Aeroportos: Queiroz Galvão and Ferrovial -  bid of  R$ 6,567 billion (US$2.894 billion)

See below the list of bids for Tancredo Neves (Confins) airport:

• Consórcio AeroBrasil, CCR (75%), Flughafen Zurich AG (24%), and Munich Airport (1%) - bid of R$ 1,4 billion (US$617 million). 40 % higher than the minimum bid.

• Consórcio Aeroportos do Futuro, formado por Odebrecht e TransPort (60%) and Singapore's Changi Airport Group (40%) - bid of R$ 1,335 billion (US$588 million)

• Consórcio Aliança Atlântica Aeroportos:  Queiroz Galvão and Ferrovial - bid of R$ 1,096 billion (US$483 million)

The signature of the contracts will take place on March 17th, 2014.

Galeão airport receives annually 17,5 million passengers (the second busiest in the country) and it is projected that it will receive 60 million passengers at the end of the concession period in 2038.

Confins airport receives annually 10,4 million passengers (the fifth busiest in the country) and it is projected that it will receive 43 million passengers at the end of the concession period in 2043.

The minimum bids accepted in the tender processes were R$ 4.828 billion (US$2.17 billion) for Galeão airport and $ 1.096 billion (US$494 million) for Confins airport.

According to ANAC, during the life of the concessions, the estimated investments will be the following:

• Galeão airport: R$ 5.7 billion (US$2.5 billion)
• Confins airport: $ 3.5 billion (US$1.6 billion)

Infraero will retain a 49% stake in the airports and the private investor 51 %.