The municipality of Pouso Alegre, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, has recently announced that it will extend the deadline for the submissions of proposals for the José Bento Leite Ferreira de Mello International Airport public-private partnership (PPP) project until early June.

The project development involves the construction, operation and maintenance of the freight and passenger International Airport José Bento Leite Ferreira de Mello, as well as the exploitation of the Antônio de Barros Lisboa Airport activities, which is currently in operation.

The term of the concession contract is 33 years with an estimated value of R1.6 billion (US$454 million) and the corresponding investment for the future concessionaire is approximately R570 million (US$162 million).

The project will involve the development of an airport in a 5 km² area located near the Cidade Vergani, Curralinho, Fazendinha and Cajuru. The airport will be Class 4, which means that it will be operated by cargo aircraft type Boeing 767 and similar.

Interested firms must submit their proposals in order to participate in the bidding process before June 3, 2016. This is the second deadline extension, as the initial date for the submission of proposals was March 1, and the process was extended until May 16.