Expanding Barcelona’s El Prat airport is turning into a marathon project. Both Aena and the Catalan government have been working through the legal requirements, but they’re not expecting the project to be finished until at least 2033. The extension of the runway and most of the major works will need a Master Plan, which involves multiple procedures and approvals. Therefore, most of the investment will be concentrated in DORA IV, beyond 2032.
It’s been three months since the agreement between the Catalan government and Aena for the Barcelona airport expansion. Since that 10th June announcement, both parties have been advancing through the long, complex and highly regulated procedures the project requires. However, every time the controversial issue resurfaces, critics and supporters rush to make their voices heard.
The latest chapter played out on Wednesday in Congress regarding the approval of the Sustainable Mobility Law. Podemos claimed they’d agreed with the Government to pause the expansion plan until 2031 and raise environmental requirements. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Transport quickly denied this, warning that the timelines for El Prat’s airport development remained unchanged.
Master Plan work has begun
Once again, as has been repeating for four years now, political negotiation could muddy a process that’s already taken off following the detailed schedule agreed between Salvador Illa’s government and Aena. Work began this September on drafting the Master Plan, the Bible of what must happen at El Prat in coming years.
This document, whose processing will last at least three years, is the responsibility of the former director of Barcelona airport and current Director of Airport Planning at Aena, Sonia Corrochano. The engineer will command a process that, just in consultations with affected parties and the public information process, will extend until 2027. And then comes Europe, which will need to resolve the opinion and strategic environmental review via the European Commission.
The Master Plan will need drafting of projects, public exposure, tendering, adjudication and the usual etcetera of any infrastructure which, if it becomes judicialised, will be delayed even further. There will be, at minimum, two separate projects – one for the runway and another for the satellite terminal. Moreover, it’s common in these cases to outsource some aspect of the Master Plan to an engineering firm or consultancy, though Aena wants to closely monitor one of its most emblematic yet controversial projects.
Environmental compensation plans underway
The Generalitat has used public procurement mechanisms to find a company with European experience to advise Aena on drafting environmental compensation for the airport expansion project. The tender was published in early July and it looks like they’ll soon know who’ll handle this plan.
Although executive projects can’t go ahead until the Master Plan is completed, some processes can run in parallel. This would explain why, between 2027 and 2033, environmental procedures, projects and actual execution of works will happen, which must also be scheduled to interfere as little as possible with the airport’s daily operations.
This is precisely the reason the airport infrastructure expansion isn’t included in Aena’s investment plan for 2027-2031, known as DORA III, budgeted at 13 billion euros, of which Barcelona will receive around 1.1 billion. Most of the 3.2 billion euros committed three months ago will form part of the next budgetary quinquennium, DORA IV (2032-2036).
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