According to a report by CNN, ANA – Aeroportos requested the extension of the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) of Montijo Airport around two months ago to prevent it from expiring on January 21. The decision is now in the hands of the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA).

The existence of a DIA is an advantage of Montijo as a complementary solution to Humberto Airport. The assessment of by APA was issued on January 21, 2020, and must now be renewed for another four years. Otherwise, it will expire and a new one will have to be made.

APA received the request for the revalidation of the Montijo Airport DIA submitted by ANA two months ago and is yet to comment. The decision is technical, however it may also have a political angle, taking into account the decision about the location of the future infrastructure that will serve the region has been one of the themes of the pre-campaign for the legislative elections.

The Prime Minister agreed to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment to study options for increasing airport capacity in Lisbon, which would serve as the basis for a joint political understanding.

The Comissão Técnica Independente (CTI) responsable for the study released the preliminary report at the beginning of the month, pointing out the Campo de Tiro de Alcochete as the one with the greatest advantages. On the other hand, Montijo was considered an unfeasible solution, as the physical restrictions on increasing capacity do not allow to respond to the scenario of increased demand after 2050.

The newly elected general secretary of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, will maintain dialogue with the PSD, however, he intends to follow the recommendations of the CTI, which will be available for public consultation until January 26, 2024, five days after the expiration date of the DIA.

“My commitment is to the conclusions of the CTI, which is the result of an agreement between the Government and the PSD, I was the Minister of Infrastructure”, he stated. “The decision will be made based on the conclusions of the CTI”.

Campo de Tiro also had a favourable DIA in 2010, but that expired in December 2020. ANA requested renewal twice. If the option falls to Alcochete, a new environmental assessment will be necessary to give the project a green light. The Montijo assessment took nine months, after all the documentation was collected.

The PSD decided to create an internal working group to analyse the CTI report and the options for the future location, not ruling out the option for Montijo.

ANA has expressed a preference for the Montijo option, arguing that it is quicker to build and does not burden taxpayers. In 2017, a project was presented for the complementary airport at Air Base No.6 and even an agreement was signed with the Government in 2019 to implement it.

Thierry Ligonnière, CEO of ANA, stated in an interview with Jornal de Negócios “ANA is agnostic in the solution for the airport”, although “the country is not”.

“Some solutions take time to be implemented and depending on the initial level of investment, there may be an impact on taxpayers”, he pointed out.

The APA issued a DIA in favour of the complementary Montijo airport and the road connection to the A12, albeit in a conditional manner. ANA was forced to implement around 160 compensation measures, with the cost of which at the time was estimated to be €48 million.

Among the measures, was the financing of a vehicle company to be set up by Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas for the protection and conservation of wild birds, the acquisition of two electrically propelled ships to connect Cais do Seixalinho to Lisbon or increasing the elevation of the runway, to prevent the rise in the average sea level.

The Declaration is for Montijo to be a complementary airport to Portela. In a solution in which Montijo would be classified as the main airport, with a second runway, there will have to be a new environmental assessment for this option.