More than a year after the Independent Techninal Commission began examining the options for Lisbon's new airport, the final report was delivered yesterday.
The Independent Technical Commission (CTI) delivered its final report on the options for the location of Lisbon's new airport on Monday. The final report will be made public on March 22.
Nine options for the new location were put on the table and the commission identified the construction of the new infrastructure in Alcochete or Vendas Novas as the most "favourable".
The commission recommends that the solution should be a single airport that guarantees "the efficiency and effectiveness of its operation", pointing out that all the options generate "opportunities, but also risks, considering uncertainties, and also negative impacts, namely on the environment and human health".
However, contrary to the preliminary report presented on 5 December 2023, the CTI now admits a dual solution combining the current Portela airport with Santarém: "(it) would have the advantage of overcoming the constraints created by the concession contract in the short term, and would also have the advantage of private financing," the document reads.
Nevertheless, the commission led by Professor Maria do Rosário Partidário stresses that a solution with Santarém would be penalised "by its great distance from the centre of Lisbon, which significantly reduces the macroeconomic impacts of the airport", and rules out the infrastructure being admitted as a main airport because it is not viable "due to the existing military aeronautical limitations".
The submission of the document comes just over three months after the preliminary report was published and then submitted to public consultation - and the day after Portugal held yet another parliamentary election.
Check out below the eight options under examination:
Option | Distance to Lisbon | Travel Time to Lisbon (by car) | Population exposed to aircraft noise | Movements/hour |
Current Airport + Montijo | 29km | 21mins | 713000 | 20+60 |
Montijo + Current Airport | 29km | 21mins | 713000 | 60+20 |
Alcochete | 51km | 37mins | 5500 | 80 |
Current Airport + Alcochete | 51km | 37mins | 564000 | 20+40 |
Santarém | 94km | 1h04m | 1100 | 60 |
Current Airport + Santarém | 94km | 1h04m | 567000 | 20+40 |
Vendas Novas | 70km | 49mins | 1230 | 80 |
Current Airport + Vendas Novas | 70km | 49mins | 560200 | 20+40 |