Salvador Bahia Airport offers passengers a virtual tour of its Sustainability Complex

Credit: : Will Recarey / Salvador Bahia Airport

Salvador Bahia Airport (SSA) has offered passengers the chance today and yesterday to take a free tour, with virtual reality glasses, of the Sustainability Complex. When VINCI Airports took over the concessions of SSA in 2018, it invested in infrastructure to reach its environmental aspirations. SSA has been able to reduce its carbon emissions by 89% and water use by more than 40%.

What is the Sustainability Complex?

In an area of 935 m², the Sustainability Complex houses a modern effluent treatment plant; the solid waste centre, where the segregation and proper disposal of all materials discarded in terminals and aircraft is carried out; the accelerated composter, which transforms organics into effluent for reuse water, and the Biodiversity Centre, which has a nursery and a team of professionals responsible for the identification, treatment and correct handling of the animals found at the airport site.

Next to the Complex, on the side of the main runway, is the first solar power plant at airports in Brazil. This structure can also be visited by interested parties.

Recently, at the end of 2023, the installation of 1125 photovoltaic panels on the roof of the International Cargo Terminal (TECA), also helped to leverage the aerodrome’s clean energy generation process. Salvador Bahia Airport is also proud to be the first Brazilian airport to have a solar plant. From the implementation of anti-glare solar panels, to avoid attracting birds, we generated more than 4.2 MW.

Previously, the aerodrome was elected the most sustainable in the country for three years in a row, thanks to a series of initiatives that began to be implemented at the beginning of the concession, six years ago.  In addition to being “zero landfill” and “zero effluent”, SSA is the first in the country to have a solar power plant – capable of producing about 30% of the terminal’s energy demand – and to achieve ISO 14001 – a certification that attests to its commitment to environmental management.