Alex Trelinski
A €2.4 billion investment to expand Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez airport has been announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday.
Sanchez revealed the massive plan during to a visit to the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) in Madrid.
“This is the largest investment in port infrastructure that we are going to have during this decade,” said Sanchez.
The announcement does not come as a surprise as the €2.4 billion improvements are in the current Airport Regulation Document which runs until 2026, and will be extended into its next period, between 2027 and 2031.
It’s projected that Spain’s largest airport will reach a capacity of 90 million passengers by 2031 helped by the tourist boom which already means the current facilities cannot cope with demand.
The expansion announcement means that the government aims to make Madrid airport the biggest in the EU by capacity.
It is already the busiest in Spain with more than 60 million passengers passed through it last year ahead of Barcelona with almost 50 million, and Palma de Mallorca, with more than 31 million.
In truth, the Friday’s Sanchez announcement merely confirmed what was in progress already.
Last November, airport operator Aena approved the award of the second phase of technical assistance for the drafting of an expansion project for Madrid’s terminals T4 and T4S along with associated areas.
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A revamp of terminals T1, T2, and T3 will also take place.
