SANT PERE SULA
The private sector assures that “it is not unfounded fears” that a monopoly in the administration of the airports in Honduras, A model whose results are in a country with poor infrastructure and little competitiveness at the regional level.
For businessman Luis Larach, “Palmerola is what has been seen to be operating behind the scenes for a long time “, so that the request made by the consortium Emco-Palmerola International Airport (PIA) to take over the operation of the airport cargo service Ramón Villeda Morales and to extend the term of administration of the Toncontín “is an execution and a formality which they are giving him. Sending this letter is already of spoken comparison.” Now the donkey is already tied, “he added.
Larach said “we cannot continue to condemn our country” with concessions that have left airport infrastructure in the saga. “We heard Leo Castelló talk about the big operation they are doing with Ehisa (Honduran Company for Airport Infrastructure and Services), Which is the government company that is operating the Villeda, in quotes, because we all know they are not. There is a clear deterioration in the services that are being provided. I know it happened Eta y Iota“But the service being provided is disastrous, no one is satisfied.”
The request sent on August 3 to the Secretary of Infrastructure and Public Services (Insep), Roberto Pineda, by EMCO-PIA, proposes to seek the application of compensation mechanisms to restore the financial viability of Toncontín because of the pandemic.
On this, Gustavo Solórzano, lawyer and manager of Legal Advice from the Honduran Council of Private Enterprisea (COHEP) said the justification for PIA is insufficient.
“It is an application that does not yet have any kind of resolution and that must have a process. Our consideration is that what was not part of an initial process cannot be granted. At this time, this contract is the only that it complies with is the administration and operation of the Palmerola International Airport, And part of Tegucigalpa in terms of passengers that has been granted.
the COHEP apply to Government access the concession contract of Palmerola to draw up a legal analysis in this regard.
The business sector has also emphasized the principles of the defense of free competition, so they urge that the administration of airports does not become the monopoly of a single company.
Meanwhile, the regional president of the National Association of Industrialists, Fuad Handal, said that “no matter how much we applaud the investment in Palmerola, SPS Airport must operate independently to ensure sustainable and modern development for the air terminal. The monopoly would only encourage delays for the airport. “
The president of the Cortés Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCIC), Eduardo Facussé, considered that the executives of PIA must give up making requests for compensation from the Villeda cargo service and look for another method of compensation. It is a very valuable opportunity for Palmerola to seek a method of compensation that does not lead to a monopoly system of airport services and that allows them to compete more with them in these services, because it will bring well-being for the whole country. “
Peter Fleming, director of the EMCO Airports Division and representative of TOO, Has explained in a television interview that they currently have a contract with Ehisa for more than a year to reactivate the charging terminal in Villeda, and what they are asking is that they be extended the same to identify services that allow them the financial balance of Palmerola.
They suggest creating a joint venture to manage airportsSANT PERE SULA. The three airports in northern Honduras have to go through a competitive and transparent international public bidding process, said Cortés MP Samir Molina. As a legislator, the creation of a joint venture between the Municipality, the Government and chambers of commerce for the administration of the airports of San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba and Roatán should also be considered, and that the utility can be reinvested. in the modernization of each. “The profits should be to reinvest in the airports themselves, not for the gain of individuals or for a business group, the government or municipal sector,” the MP added. Meanwhile, the Liberal deputy for Cortés Juan Carlos Ávila showed that the lack of maintenance in the infrastructure of the air terminal of San Pedro Sula is notorious and that in the administration of the Superintendence of Public Private Alliances (SAPP) it has become a place “to hook up with the ruling party activists. The truth is, I’m very worried, I feel like the Superintendency of Concessions is falling short in the administration because at the airport they are neglecting it quite a bit.” “The toll booth looks like a witch’s house there, dark, it’s all dark there. And they’re so incapable that not even the parking lot where one pays 24 lempiras per hour, which is quite expensive, can give them attention,” he said. denounced Avila. For the Liberal MP, “there is a bad intention to let the airport lose quality in services.” . |