Lisbon, July 22, 2026 (Lusa) - The new Luis de Camoes Airport in the Portuguese capital is expected to represent an investment of between €7.9 billion and €8.9 billion, at 2024 prices, according to the technical report published on Wednesday.
The new estimate updates the figure put forward by the country's airports managing company, ANA, in 2025 in its preliminary report, which indicated an investment of €8.5 billion.
Construction is due to begin in 2029 and be completed by 2033, in accordance with the timetable accompanying the documents.
Following testing and certification work, the new airport is scheduled to open from 2035, which is also earlier than the previously forecast date of mid-2037.
«The technical report allows us to assess the phasing of the work and duration with a little greater precision, and to better identify the project's construction cost range,» said Thierry Ligonnière, chair of ANA's executive committee.
The CEO of ANA, José Luís Arnaut, noted that the submission of the report reflects «a great deal of work – indeed, a great deal of behind-the-scenes work» carried out over recent months and stands as proof of the concessionaire's commitment to the Government's decision regarding the new airport.
Thierry Ligonnière also emphasised that the document was submitted to the Government «within the deadlines set out in the concession contract, to the exact day», and constitutes the third report presented as part of the process, following the initial report and the document relating to the stakeholder consultation.
The document paves the way for the preliminary studies, also known as «basic design» studies, and for the architectural development of the project.
With a projected capacity of 56 million passengers per year upon opening, the new infrastructure is expected to be able to expand to handle up to 85 million passengers annually.
The project envisages two runways in the initial phase, 64 boarding gates, 72 jet bridges and a passenger terminal covering around 500,000 square metres.
«We have been dreaming of a new airport for 50 years and today we are making that dream a reality,» said the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz.
This is the third document submitted by the concessionaire as part of the preparations for the Luís de Camões Airport application, following the consultation report, presented in July 2025, and the preliminary environmental impact assessment report, submitted in January this year.
ANA also plans to submit the Environmental Impact Assessment – comprising almost 5,000 pages – to the Portuguese Environment Agency by the end of July.
According to the established timetable, the concessionaire is then due to submit the financial report on 17 January 2027 and finalise the application for the new airport in January 2028.
The concessionaire plans to finance the project to the tune of around €7 billion through debt issuance and proposes a gradual increase in airport charges at the existing Lisbon airport between 2026 and 2030.
In the preliminary report, ANA also proposed extending the airport concession contract by a further 30 years, until 2092, to ensure the repayment of the investment and the economic sustainability of the concession, without public financial support.
The concession contract currently in force was signed in 2012 with the French company Vinci (the owner of ANA) for a period of 50 years.
SCR/AYLS // AYLS
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