TAP buyer could influence nature of new airport

 In New Airport, News

The leader of an independent commission looking into the various sites for the location of Lisbon’s new international airport, says whichever company buys public airline TAP will influence the nature of the infrastructure.

Rosário Partidário, leader of the Independent Technical Commission said in an interview with ECO Online that the objective was to select a final option for the government out of the nine on the table, but that the business plan would come later.
One of the factors that the Independent Technical Commission, which is responsible for the Strategic Environmental Evaluation of the new airport sites, has no control over is the outcome of the competition for the reprivatisation of TAP, whose first step was taken by the government last week.
Rosário Partidário told ECO that if the IAG Group, which owns Iberia, wins the competition, this would change the “nature of the airport” that would be built, and admits that this variable would be included in the studies that would be carried out.
As for those that are in favour of a new airport being located at Santarém and who have downplayed the lack of a concession contract from ANA, the airports company that runs Portugal’s airports, Rosário Partidário says that a legal study will enable the commission to understand the limits of a new location, what the different possibilities are, and what problems could arise over the concession contract.
“If they (the Santarém supporters) present a proposal and have legal expert reports underpinning this proposal, I would like to think that there would be no legal constraints,” she said.