Alcochete finally agreed upon
After well over half a century of delays, mind-changing and embarrassing false starts, Portugal’s AD government has decided that Lisbon’s new airport will be located at the Alcochete Shooting ground, as recommended months ago by the Independent Technical Commission.
Prime minister Luís Montenegro is due to address the nation at 8pm today, following the conclusion of the Council of Ministers, due to put the finishing touches to Alcochete’s approval this afternoon.
As work on the new airport (needed to accommodate increasing demands on the capital’s Humberto Delgado terminal) will take the minimum of 10 years, the government is also expected to agree with ANA airports authority on work needed to increase capacity pro-tem at Humberto Delgado.
The Alcochete site is 45 kms from Lisbon, thus railway access will also have to be part of the construction plan.
According to reports, the railway link will take advantage of the new high-speed Porto-Lisbon connection (as well as the Lisbon-Madrid rail link), and thus have no direct costs to the overall airport project.
“It will have to be ready by 2030 to serve the Football World Cup, as stipulated in the competition’s specifications revealed by the Spanish Minister for the Interior”, writes SIC.
The 2030 World Cup is being shared with Portugal and Morocco.
Meantime, Journal Económico has reported that the CEO of ANA (always pushing for the Montijo option, vetoed repeatedly on environmental grounds) claims the delay in deciding a new airport location has “already cost over two billion euros”.
Portugal’s Order of Architects has also queried whether Portuguese companies could possibly have the capacity for a project of this size.
