Prime Minister José Sócrates announced on 10 January that Government had decided to build the new Lisbon Airport at Alcochete’s training camp, on the southern bank of the Tagus.

Based on the report produced by LNEC, the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, the Portuguese Government announced the long awaited decision on the location of the new Lisbon Airport. The initial plan to build it at Ota was abandoned and it will now be built in Alcochete (on a 7,500 ha site, which in fact lies 9 kms from the town of Alcochete on the southern Tagus bank, and falls under the local authorities of Benavente and Montijo).

The tender process referring to Ota’s airport project was ongoing and will now have to be redesigned. NAER, a subsidiary of the Portuguese Airport Authority ANA, has been in charge of the overall plan, which will still include the privatisation of ANA. The calendar announced was as follows:

Therefore, the new airport is due to start operating from 2017, without changing the date estimated for Ota. This is important as one of the main issues is tackling growing congestion at the current Portela Airport in Lisbon, undergoing enlargement. Handling capacity is estimated to be exhausted ahead of the 2017 forecast date:  Portela handled 13.4 million passengers during 2007, 8.8% more than in 2006; if this growth rate persists, the airport will handle 17.3 million passengers by the end of 2010 exceeding its current planned capacity.

Access to Alcochete from Lisbon (including a project for a 3rd bridge with both road and rail links over the Tagus), Alcochete’s expansion potential to meet growing demand, and financial and environmental issues were crucial for the Government’s decision. The 3rd bridge over the Tagus is said to include both conventional and high-speed rail links and will be part of the overall high-speed rail network project under the responsibility of RAVE. The new airport will also lead to the construction of new motorway sections around Lisbon and a “whole new town” at the site.