Barcelona El Prat airport gets green light for 1,700 million euros expansion program

Barcelona El Prat airport gets green light for 1,700 million euros expansion program.

The central government and the Generalitat de Catalunya have finally agreed to expand the El prat Barcelona airport, turning it into an intercontinental hub. The unlocking of the investment of 1,700 million euros came after a meeting held this morning (Monday, August 2) by the vice president of the Catalan Government, Jordi Puigneró, and the minister, the minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez.

The agreement provides for the drafting by AENA of an extension proposal that affects the protected area of ​​La Ricarda as little as possible that is contained within the Natura 2000 network.

The expansion of Barcelona airport would increase passenger numbers from 55 million to 70 million a year.

The €1.7bn plan, funded by Aena, the Spanish airports authority, is opposed by Barcelona city council. It will have to be approved by the European Commission, which has already condemned an earlier expansion carried out in the protected wetlands of the Llobregat delta.

The city council had earlier condemned the proposal as “a bacchanalia of sectors stuck in the past”.

Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively.

For the expansion to continue it must have the green light from the European Commission.

From there, the central government will approve the new DORA airport action plan for the period 2022-2026, before September 30, which regulates airport rates based on the planned investment plan.

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