Lisbon, Oct. 20, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Government has confirmed that the minimum specifications for the new Lisbon airport are outdated, after analysing the Consultation Report presented by the airports managing concessionaire, ANA, which brought together contributions from more than 100 entities and revealed a consensus on the need for an update.
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, most of the nine proposed amendments submitted by the concessionaire were considered relevant and widely agreed upon.
Among the changes are the reduction of the maximum length of the runways, the increase in the distance between runways to allow for independent triple operation, and the addition of contact parking positions.
"In the letter sent to the concessionaire, the Government confirms the need to update some of the minimum specifications defined in the Concession Agreement, which are partially outdated in view of developments in the aviation sector," according to a statement issued on Monday by the Government.
This need had already been previously identified by the Government in a letter sent to ANA on 16th January 2025.
During the consultation process, more than 100 entities were consulted, including the main airlines and ground handling operators, public entities such as the country's air traffic controller, NAV Portugal, the National Civil Aviation Authority, the Air Force, local authorities and other operators involved in airport operations. The report was delivered to the executive on 16 July.
While the legal process of updating the specifications set out in the concession contract is ongoing, the Government considers it feasible for ANA to proceed with the preparation of the following reports — environmental and technical — based on the optimised versions of the specifications already validated by the State.
However, the ministry headed by Miguel Pinto Luz points out that the communication sent to the airport concessionaire "does not constitute formal acceptance of the Complete Application, which will be evaluated under the terms of the Concession Contract."
The executive stresses that the new airport project remains on schedule, with the Environmental Report due to be delivered in January 2026.
The Government also reinforces its commitment to "transparency, technical rigour and the defence of the public interest", informing that the executive summary of the Consultation Report and the formal response to the concessionaire are available on the website of the IMT - Institute for Mobility and Transport.
According to the initial proposal submitted by ANA Aeroportos at the beginning of the year, the new Lisbon airport is scheduled to open in mid-2037, or, with optimisations to the schedule to be negotiated with the Government, at the end of 2036.
The concessionaire's initial estimates for the new Luís de Camões airport, at Campo de Tiro de Alcochete, pointed to €8.5 billion, of which €7 billion would be financed through debt issuance.
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