The governments of Spain and Catalonia have agreed to a controversial expansion plan Barcelona The number of passengers at the airport will increase from 55 million to 70 million per year.
The 1.7 billion euro plan funded by the Spanish Airport Authority Aena was opposed by the Barcelona City Council. It must be approved by the European Commission, which has already condemned the earlier expansion of protected wetlands in the Llobregat Delta.
The City Council earlier condemned the proposal as “a carnival of stalled departments in the past.”
In announcing the agreement, Transport Minister Raquel Sánchez stated that the expansion will be carried out with “the greatest degree of respect for the environment” and will promote “sustainable and high-quality tourism”. The work is expected to be completed in 2030.
Pere Aragones, President of the Catalonia region, claimed that if Barcelona does not want to “miss the train to the future”, then the implementation of the plan is crucial.
At the same time, the Barcelona City Council hopes that all journeys of less than 2.5 hours will be completed by train.
Much of the Llobregat Delta is protected by the EU Natural Network 2000 program.This The plan envisages extending the runway Enter the protected area of La Ricarda and build a third terminal.
In May, the European Commission sent a letter to the governments of Spain and Catalonia complaining that “the adoption and implementation of a special plan to protect the natural area and landscape of the Llobregat Delta and the extension of the scope of the special protected area”. The protection of the most suitable territory for bird protection has not received enough follow-up.”
José García, vice chairman of the environmental NGO Depana, stated that the plan runs counter to the sustainable development policies of the Spanish and Catalan governments.
He said: “Many of them are gestures so that everyone can say they are winners,” he pointed out that the agreement was reached at the first meeting of a series of meetings aimed at defusing the Catalan conflict. .
He compares this agreement to obtaining planning permission for a house you cannot afford. He said the reality is that the tourism business that Spain relies heavily on is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels soon or never, and that Aena cannot raise 1.7 billion euros.
“It’s like the emperor’s clothes,” Garcia said. “No one is prepared to admit the truth.”
Elena Mayoral, head of airport planning at Aena, stated in a written reply that the International Air Transport Organization predicts that “traffic will return to pre-pandemic levels between 2025 and 2026, and the expansion project will Start”.
When asked why a city with a population of 1.6 million needs an airport capable of carrying 70 million passengers, she said: “The large number of European destinations in the airport make it a base for intercontinental connections. Europe’s largest hub is located in a population of about 800,000 city: Amsterdam. The vast majority of transit passengers (70%) are from outside the Iberian Peninsula.
Critics point out that in addition to the environmental impact of the proposed expansion, Catalonia already has three underutilized airports in Girona, Reus and Lleida.
