The Comisión Ejecutiva Portuaria Autónoma (Autonomous Executive Port Commission, CEPA) has declared the contract award and the company in charge of the Pacific International Airport project as information under seal. The airport is currently under construction in the district of Conchagua, La Unión, and the government has allocated $384 million for the project.
In response to an information request, the institution argued that the data hold “strategic significance” for the project’s development and that public disclosure could harm operations and grant advantages to third parties, invoking the grounds for sealing information under Article 19, subsections g and h, of the Law on Access to Public Information (LAIP).
Currently, all information related to the project remains concealed. The data seal began in September 2022 with the feasibility study for the construction of the Pacific Airport, which contains data such as market, technical, legal, environmental, cadastral, and property registry studies. Economic and financial studies and executive summaries are also included. None of these may be disclosed for seven years.
The resolution also indicates that the feasibility study was declared to be under this condition via Minute No. 3164 of the CEPA Board of Directors. However, the name of the construction company and the contract award are not classified under that reference in the index of information under seal on the institutional transparency portal.
That index also includes other documents classified as confidential contracts related to negotiations with companies as prospective investors, among which Munich Airport International GmbH, ERG International UK (ERG), and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) stand out.
Likewise, it covers the procurement processes for acquiring the properties where the work is being built. Regarding these, although the government claims to have paid $50,000 and $70,000 to each family and not to have forcibly displaced anyone, organizations such as the Movimiento Indígena para la Articulación de las Luchas de los Pueblos Ancestrales (Indigenous Movement for the Articulation of Ancestral Peoples’ Struggles, MILPA) and several former owners have denounced that the lands were purchased from them “below cost”: between $3,000 and $4,000 per manzana.
For the airport’s first stage, the government anticipates an investment of $386.4 million. As detailed by President Bukele at the project’s inauguration ceremony, the first phase will cost $320 million funded by the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (Development Bank of Latin America, CAF), plus $16.4 million from the government of Spain through a corporate internationalization fund, and $50 million from CEPA funds.
The legislative approval authorizing the airport’s construction, operation, and maintenance was passed by lawmakers with 67 votes in favor on April 27, 2022.
On March 4 of this year, the Legislative Assembly approved a reform to the national budget to allocate additional funds to CEPA for the airport works. That allocation amounted to $157.7 million, of which $143.24 million was directed to the Pacific Airport for earthworks and personnel hiring.
More recently, on October 7, lawmakers approved a sovereign guarantee so that CEPA could back a loan from the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (Official Credit Institute, ICO) for $17 million for the installation of a 21-meter-high dome in the “Beta Terminal.” Lawmakers did not specify whether this amount constitutes additional financing beyond the project’s cost.
Operational Status
According to information provided by the government, the new airport will commence operations in the second quarter of 2027. As revealed by the official in charge of the institution, Federico Anliker, last September, site preparation works for construction have reached 50% completion.
The project is planned in three phases. In the first stage, a 2,400-meter runway will be built, with two boarding gates, a passenger terminal, and aircraft aprons. Authorities estimate it will handle up to 300,000 passengers per year.
Subsequent phases aim to expand the airport significantly. In the second phase, the runway will extend to 3,000 meters, and plans include incorporating eight additional gates, thereby increasing the terminal’s capacity. For the third phase, the runway will remain at 3,000 meters, but the total number of boarding gates will rise to 18.
CEPA impone reserva total a contrato y constructora del Aeropuerto del Pacífico
The Comisión Ejecutiva Portuaria Autónoma (Autonomous Executive Port Commission, CEPA) has declared the contract award and the company in charge of the Pacific International Airport project as information under seal. The airport is currently under construction in the district of Conchagua, La Unión, and the government has allocated $384 million for the project.
In response to an information request, the institution argued that the data hold “strategic significance” for the project’s development and that public disclosure could harm operations and grant advantages to third parties, invoking the grounds for sealing information under Article 19, subsections g and h, of the Law on Access to Public Information (LAIP).
Currently, all information related to the project remains concealed. The data seal began in September 2022 with the feasibility study for the construction of the Pacific Airport, which contains data such as market, technical, legal, environmental, cadastral, and property registry studies. Economic and financial studies and executive summaries are also included. None of these may be disclosed for seven years.
The resolution also indicates that the feasibility study was declared to be under this condition via Minute No. 3164 of the CEPA Board of Directors. However, the name of the construction company and the contract award are not classified under that reference in the index of information under seal on the institutional transparency portal.
That index also includes other documents classified as confidential contracts related to negotiations with companies as prospective investors, among which Munich Airport International GmbH, ERG International UK (ERG), and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) stand out.
Likewise, it covers the procurement processes for acquiring the properties where the work is being built. Regarding these, although the government claims to have paid $50,000 and $70,000 to each family and not to have forcibly displaced anyone, organizations such as the Movimiento Indígena para la Articulación de las Luchas de los Pueblos Ancestrales (Indigenous Movement for the Articulation of Ancestral Peoples’ Struggles, MILPA) and several former owners have denounced that the lands were purchased from them “below cost”: between $3,000 and $4,000 per manzana.
For the airport’s first stage, the government anticipates an investment of $386.4 million. As detailed by President Bukele at the project’s inauguration ceremony, the first phase will cost $320 million funded by the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (Development Bank of Latin America, CAF), plus $16.4 million from the government of Spain through a corporate internationalization fund, and $50 million from CEPA funds.
The legislative approval authorizing the airport’s construction, operation, and maintenance was passed by lawmakers with 67 votes in favor on April 27, 2022.
On March 4 of this year, the Legislative Assembly approved a reform to the national budget to allocate additional funds to CEPA for the airport works. That allocation amounted to $157.7 million, of which $143.24 million was directed to the Pacific Airport for earthworks and personnel hiring.
More recently, on October 7, lawmakers approved a sovereign guarantee so that CEPA could back a loan from the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (Official Credit Institute, ICO) for $17 million for the installation of a 21-meter-high dome in the “Beta Terminal.” Lawmakers did not specify whether this amount constitutes additional financing beyond the project’s cost.
Operational Status
According to information provided by the government, the new airport will commence operations in the second quarter of 2027. As revealed by the official in charge of the institution, Federico Anliker, last September, site preparation works for construction have reached 50% completion.
The project is planned in three phases. In the first stage, a 2,400-meter runway will be built, with two boarding gates, a passenger terminal, and aircraft aprons. Authorities estimate it will handle up to 300,000 passengers per year.
Subsequent phases aim to expand the airport significantly. In the second phase, the runway will extend to 3,000 meters, and plans include incorporating eight additional gates, thereby increasing the terminal’s capacity. For the third phase, the runway will remain at 3,000 meters, but the total number of boarding gates will rise to 18.