The municipality of Primavera do Leste (Mato Grosso) presented detailed engineering plans on 12 June to extend and modernise Ernesto Ruaro Municipal Airport, a project officials call critical to sustaining the region’s double-digit agribusiness growth and attracting new industry. Key elements include lengthening the runway from 1 400 m to 2 000 m, building a new aircraft parking apron, installing LED runway lighting and a standby power plant, and constructing a surface-weather observation station funded under a federal programme that will place 20 such systems nationwide. Environmental licensing with state regulator SEMA is already halfway complete; tendering could begin early 2027 once licences are issued. The upgrade would allow Boeing 737-class jets to operate year-round, opening the door to scheduled links with São Paulo and Brasília and reducing reliance on the 230-km road transfer to Rondonópolis. Local exporters say faster access to belly-hold capacity will cut shipment lead times for chilled beef and pharmaceutical corn-seed lines. For companies managing expatriate agronomists and plant-construction crews, the project promises to shorten medevac times and improve travel-policy compliance once commercial flights start. The airport’s modernisation is also a template for other sub-regional hubs seeking federal meteorological support. Municipal officials estimate total investment at R$180 million, to be financed through a mix of national aviation-fund grants and PPP concessions; public hearings on the model are scheduled for September.
Source: NMT – Notícias de Mato Grosso
