Heathrow Airport has revealed details of its plan to expand and modernize the airport at a cost of £49 billion ($65 billion).
According to BBC News, Thomas Woldbye, CEO of Heathrow Airport, said expansion was “urgent” as the airport was currently working at capacity, “to the detriment of trade and connectivity.” The work would be funded by private finance.
The government has backed plans for a third runway, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying it would “make Britain the world’s best-connected place to do business.”
But environmental groups, politicians, and locals oppose the plan. London’s mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said the expansion would have a severe impact on noise, air pollution and meeting the city’s climate change targets.
The plans come a day after the deadline set by the government for parties to submit proposals.
Heathrow’s plans, which it estimates would be completed within a decade, would include costs of £21 billion to build a third runway, which includes procuring the land, changing the M25 motorway that encircles Greater London, and other associated infrastructure costs. Building a new terminal would cost £12 billion, and modernizing the current airport’s infrastructure £15 billion. Due to rounding, it will total £49 billion.
A joint statement from the Confederation of British Industry, British Chambers of Commerce, MakeUK, Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors, said it was “an investment in the nation’s future.”
Dr Douglas Parr, policy director for Greenpeace UK, said the government had “decided yet again to prioritize more leisure opportunities for a comparatively small group of frequent fliers, whilst the rest of us have to live with the consequences of their disproportionate polluting.”
