The Ministry of Infrastructure has already started steps with ANA to move forward with the process for the construction of the future Luís de Camões airport, at Campo de Tiro de Alcochete, including a flexibilisation of the deadlines set out in the contract, with the aim of “anticipating the delivery of the application for the new Lisbon airport (NAL)” by the concessionaire.

“In view of the publication of the Resolution of the Council of Ministers, the Government is currently taking steps with the concessionaire to implement the content of the resolution, particularly with regard to the content of the initial report, as well as the execution times, aware of that, given the strategic importance of the development of the NAL, the importance of making the contractually foreseen deadlines more flexible is recognized, with a view to bringing forward the submission of the Application to the NAL ”, an official source from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing responded to ECO.

On May 14, the Council of Ministers approved the Resolution of the Council of Ministers that determines the construction of the Luís de Camões airport at the Alcochete shooting field. The concession contract stipulates that it is up to the grantor, the State, to inform the concessionaire that it intends to prepare an Initial Report (High-Level Assumption Report) on the development of airport capacity for Lisbon.

ANA now has six months to prepare the Initial Report, which could be decisive for the continuity of the process. In addition to the proposed location, the document must include a preliminary estimate of costs and key specifications, a proposal for construction duration and completion, and construction financing. The latter includes proposals for a possible “change in the airport fees regime and/or extension of the concession period”. After receiving the Initial Report, the Government has 30 days to “confirm in writing to the concessionaire whether it intends for it to prepare the application to the NAL”.

Once this phase has been passed, the concession contract gives ANA 36 months to present the complete application for the new airport, a process that provides for a broad set of documents, such as the Consultation Report, the Report on the Selected Site, an Environmental Impact Study, the Technical Report and the Financial Report. A deadline that the Ministry of Infrastructure wants to be shortened, in order to allow the work to begin earlier.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, pointed to 2034 as a “reasonable” deadline for Luís de Camões airport to enter into operation.