El Salvador’s airport hopes to become logistics and financial center for surrounding region

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Central American airport is set to follow in the footsteps of Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport, using its strategic geographic location to attract cargo and passenger airlines.

San Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International Airport (AIES), located in the Salvadoran capital, aims to attract more traffic by expanding and modernizing its air cargo terminal to position itself as one of the most important business centers in Latin America.

Read also: Check out our coverage on El Salvador

A few days ago, the Central American country’s new legislative assembly approved the public-private partnership (PPP) to modernize the airport’s cargo infrastructure and accelerate initiatives related to foreign trade, creating new jobs and boosting the economy.

Federico Anliker López, president of the Autonomous Executive Commission of Ports (CEPA), assured that “we will make the airport more efficient and modern and provide quality services that go hand in hand with President Nayib Bukele’s plan for economic recovery.”

The project to modernize and expand El Salvador’s main airport terminal includes foreign investment of about $62.3 million, which will increase capacity from the current 26,000 tons to 73,000 tons to boost foreign trade. The project will be implemented in two phases: The first envisages an expansion from 26,000 to 52,000 and the second from 52 to 73,000 tons per year.

In addition, the work at El Salvador’s international airport is expected to generate revenue that the state will convert into work for the country’s development. The 0.5% of the profits generated by the PPP would be given to the municipalities to promote initiatives and projects that benefit society.