The infrastructure minister said on Thursday that the increase in interest in buying TAP is due to the “transformation that has led to its valuation” and that “the more competition, the better”, for the company and for the country.
At the end of a visit to the Évora factory of the French group Mecachrome, part of the “Closer Government” initiative, Minister João Galamba was questioned by journalists about the interest of the International Airlines Group (IAG) in TAP.
“The interest from these and other groups shows that TAP is in a transformation process that has led to its appreciation and is arousing the interest of various groups, which is of course of interest to the government and TAP”he stressed.
Considering that it is good for the company “to be solid, sustainable and grow to attract the interest of major European groups in the aviation sector”, the official emphasized that “the more competition and interest there is, the better for TAP and for the country”.
Earlier this month, AIG’s executive chairman, Luis Gallego, admitted in statements to the EFE office that he would run for the privatization of TAP, if conditions set by the Portuguese government allow and make sense for the company.
Asked by journalists what he meant when he claimed that an airport in Santarém was far from Lisbon and whether he thought he had been misunderstood, João Galamba declined to speak on the subject.
“I sat in parliament for five hours and have spoken at length on this subject and I have no more word to add to what I have said, because I think I was enlightening enough,” he limited himself to continue.
Regarding the aviation industry, João Galamba noted that there has been a “significant transformation” in the country, recalling that “it was a practically non-existent sector” and that it has been “built from scratch” in recent years.
Évora, he pointed out, has “a very important aviation cluster, which employs more than a thousand people and wants to grow, but it has challenges, like all companies, such as the issue of housing, transportation and hiring”.
“These are transversal issues for many businesses and it is clear that we all need to work together to respond to these issues,” he added.
Prior to the visit to the Mecachrome factory, the Minister of Infrastructure also visited the industrial units of the aerospace company Aernnova, acquired last year from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer.
These two Aernnova factories, located in the Parque de Indústria Aeronáutica de Évora, on the outskirts of the city, had about 550 employees in October 2022, according to information released by the mayor of the municipality at the time.
Inaugurated in 2017, the Mecachrome factory, which is also located on this industrial park and where components and parts for the aviation industry are produced, has 248 employees and a turnover of 26 million euros.
Mecachrome’s factory in Évora has Airbus, Safran and Rolls Royce as main customers.
Source: DN
