Most governments treat their main airport like a toy.
A prestige project.
A political trophy.
A place to cut ribbons and hire cousins.

The perfect picture for LinkedIn.

Egos don't get a better chance to shine.

Bogotá did that for years.
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And the result was the "before" picture.
Congested terminal.
Old infrastructure.
Chaos on peak days.
And zero money to fix it properly.

Then in 2007 they did something different.
They gave El Dorado to people who actually had skin in the game...

Crazy!

A concession.
Real capex.
Real obligations.
Real risk.

Since then, passenger traffic has exploded.
From single-digit millions in the early 2000s to one of the busiest hubs in Latin America.
Cargo leadership.
Multiple expansions.
Now they’re planning to push capacity towards 60 million passengers a year.

Call me mad... but it seems that this didn’t happen by chance.
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I think that it may happen because a contract did one thing well

It forced everyone to grow up.

The State had to stop playing airport operator.
And start acting like a regulator and landlord.

The private partner had to stop dreaming about upside only.
And put billions on the table.
With clear KPIs.
Clear investment milestones.
And revenue-sharing with the State when things went better than expected.

No more “we’ll fix it in the next budget”.
No more “we’ll see after the election”.
You either expand.
Or you breach the contract.

Was it perfect?

Of course not.

The only perfect contracts are the ones drafted for PowerPoint presentations.
There were fights.
Noise about returns.
Discussions on capacity, timing, and who pays for what.

But...

What is experienced people for... right?

Bogotá today has a serious airport.
Most capitals don’t.

Still most governments pretend they can do everything.
Design.

Build.

Finance.

Operate.

Maintain.
From a ministry office.
With zero real accountability.

Colombia didn’t privatise the airport “because PPPs are trendy”.
They did it because the alternative was collapse.
And they accepted a brutal truth.

If you want a world-class hub, you can’t manage it like a provincial bus station.

If you work in government and you’re scared of PPPs, El Dorado should bother you.
Because it proves the problem is not “the model”.
It’s courage.

Courage to admit you’re not the best operator.
Courage to sign a long-term contract with clear sanctions.
Courage to let someone make money… After they’ve taken real risk and delivered real capacity.

Most countries are still arguing about ideology.
Bogotá just gets on with it.

For more insights about PPPs and mega-projects, click below:

​The top 15 Lessons of a successful project​

​The top 15 lessons of a nightmare project​

​Don't be embarrassed. ​

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