Plan for new Lisbon airport blocked, government pushes for solution

Portugal's aviation regulator ANAC on Tuesday refused to evaluate a plan to build a new airport in Lisbon, a fresh setback for one of the country's largest infrastructure projects, but the government said it would push for a solution.

Portugal's aviation regulator ANAC on Tuesday refused to evaluate a plan to build a new airport in Lisbon, a fresh setback for one of the country's largest infrastructure projects, but the government said it would push for a solution. The country's tourism industry, where growth was brought to a halt last year by the COVID-19 pandemic, has complained for years about a lack of capacity at Lisbon's Portela airport. A new airport at Montijo on the southern bank of the Tagus River was proposed as a second hub.

Plans for the new airport have been under consideration for five decades and the government said in 2019 the Montijo airport, where there is already a military air base, would be completed next year. But ANAC said in a statement it had rejected the evaluation request submitted by airport authority ANA as not all municipalities in and around the new airport were happy with the plans, with some citing environmental concerns.

"It was concluded that ANAC was obliged to reject the request outright," it said in a statement published on its website, explaining that according to Portuguese law, it could only evaluate the project if all local governments had provided positive feedback. Reacting to ANAC's decision, the government said in a statement it would propose for the law in question to be reviewed. It also said it would suggest different solutions for the impasse, including building the airport elsewhere.

An environmental study in 2019 highlighted a threat to wildlife from the new airport as the Tagus estuary is a nature reserve for various birds. French construction group Vinci, which owns ANA, the operator of Lisbon airport, said it would invest 1.15 billion euros in the expansion of Lisbon's main airport and the construction of the new one.

Vinci and ANA could not be immediately reached for comment.

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