Heathrow airport’s own £49bn proposal facing cheaper rival as government gears up to choose winning bid
At least three separate proposals for the expansion of Heathrow airport are being worked up ahead of a government decision on the scheme this autumn.
The airport itself has submitted a £49bn “blueprint” to the Department for Transport but is yet to name the lead architect or consultants working on the scheme.
The proposals are understood to be largely the same as Grimshaw’s 2016 proposal for the expansion, which was due to open in 2026. The plan was stalled by a Supreme Court ruling in 2020 and falling passenger numbers during the pandemic.
RSHP, BDP and WW+P have all said they are not involved in the competition, which follows an invitation for proposals issued by the DfT in June.
Meanwhile, hotel developer Arora Group has submitted a rival scheme designed by Scott Brownrigg and US engineering giant Bechtel which is aiming to reduce costs with a much shorter third runway.
Known as Heathrow West, the scheme’s proposed 2.8km runway would mean the M25 would not need to be rerouted through a road tunnel as would be the case with the 3.5km runway proposed by the airport.
London QS Doig & Smith is running the costs on the scheme. Arora Group said it would cost under £25bn, around half of the projected cost of the plans put forward by the airport.
A 200-page costed proposal and timeline says the third runway could be fully operational by 2035 while a new Terminal 6 would be split into two sections and opened in 2036 and 2040.
Arora Group said the scheme had been designed to put a lid on the “spiralling cost of the new runway by avoiding the M25 motorway crossing”.
The company’s founder and chairman Surinder Arora said the plan “directly meets and supports the United Kingdom’s primary objective of unlocking economic growth at the UK’s only hub airport, with a strong commitment of doing so on budget and on-time”.
The airport has said it can complete its own scheme within a decade “if the government moves at pace with necessary policy changes and an appropriate regulatory framework”.
Heathrow said its plans for the 3.5km runway and airport infrastructure, costed at £14bn in 2018, would not cost £21bn, a rise which it blamed on construction inflation.
The scheme would include a new terminal called “T5X”, which would be an expansion of the existing Terminal 2, alongside three new “satellite” terminals, which together have been priced at £12bn.
Modernising the current airport would cost a further £15bn, the airport said, with the work including expanding Terminal 2 and ultimately closing Terminal 3.
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: “It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow.
“We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity. With a green light from Government and the correct policy support underpinned by a fit for purpose regulatory model, we are ready to mobilise and start investing this year in our supply chain across the country. We are uniquely placed to do this for the country; it is time to clear the way for take-off.”
A full planning application is expected to be submitted in 2028.
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