Government gives ANA four months to submit plans for work at Lisbon Airport

The government is giving ANA 120 days to submit projects to fulfill specific commitments for the development of Lisbon Airport, whose work must be completed by 2027, according to a resolution published this Thursday in the Diário da República.

The Decree of the Council of Ministers defines “the adoption of a set of measures to ease operational restrictions at Humberto Delgado Airport”, stipulating that “within 120 days” ANA must submit to “the member of the government responsible for the infrastructure sector projects related to the implementation of specific development obligations 13, 14 and 17″.

We are talking about “construction of rapid exits from the runway – Runway 3 (current 2) – Implementation of stage 2 of the rapid exit H2″, which, according to the concession agreement signed in 2012, was to be implemented between 2018 and 2021, but a new completion date of 2026 has now been set.

It is also about a commitment to build “multiple entrances on runway 21 (now 20)”, which were originally due to be completed between 2018 and 2021, but a new completion date was set between 2025 and 2027, as well as ” expropriation of warehouses.” in the multiple entry area of ​​Runway 21 (currently 20)”, which was also due to be built between 2018 and 2021 and which now has a new implementation date of between 2024 and 2025.

On December 7, the Council of Ministers approved a resolution that obliges ANA to carry out investments at Humberto Delgado Airport with the aim of easing operational and passenger comfort restrictions.

On this occasion, Undersecretary of State for Infrastructure Frederico Francisco noted that “the government is not forcing ANA to do anything that it was not already obliged to do, in the understanding of the grantor. [Estado] and regulator [ANAC]”.

The government official also recalled that in order to give ANA the conditions to carry out investments with minimal disruption, the Figo Maduro airfield, attached to Lisbon Airport, is planned to be withdrawn from military use, but subject to the commencement of investment in the South Pier.

The ruling released today said that since the government contract began, ANA has “more than doubled its business volume and nearly quadrupled its EBITDA.” [lucro antes de juros, impostos, depreciação e amortização]However, “the accumulated volume of investment, instead of following the evolution of demand and profitability of the concession, turns out to be 18.9% lower than predicted by VINCI at privatization.”

The resolution, which comes into force on Friday, also determines that Navigação Aérea de Portugal – NAV Portugal will complete the implementation of the Point Merge flight sequence system by the third quarter of 2024.

Regarding the decommissioning of Figo Maduro (AT1), it is expected that a negotiating committee will be established with the ANA to make the necessary changes to the Airport Public Service Concession Agreement, providing for “terms of integration of the land in the event of dissatisfaction with the state military sector”, including “the amount of compensation , which ANA must attribute to the grantor for the benefits received.”

While negotiations are pending, a transitional solution must be adopted that will allow the transfer of control to AT1 and that provides for a mechanism for the airport manager to attribute benefits to the State, “which allows for appropriate subsequent adjustments towards the final amount to be determined as part of the negotiations.”

“The transitional solution is subject to approval by members of the government responsible for the areas of finance and infrastructure within a maximum of six months after the establishment of a negotiating committee to draw up a memorandum of understanding with the ANA. “, establishes a resolution of the Council of Ministers.