BAA unveils plans for Stansted expansion

Airports operator BAA has unveiled plans to build a second runway and new facilities at Stansted Airport.

The project, known as Stansted Generation 2, has been costed at around £2.7 billion – around £1 billion less than predicted by the government in its White Paper on Air Transport.

The project would be split into two phases. The first phase, expected to cost around £1.7 billion, would: include the construction of the new runway and parallel taxiways and cross-taxiways connecting with the existing runway; a new passenger terminal building and control tower; and a road connection from the M11 into the new terminal area.

The second phase, which would cost around £1 billion, would include: further expansion of the new terminal; runway and airfield developments; and additional expenditure on car parks, roads, piers and satellites.

BAA hopes that the new runway would be ready by 2013, subject to planning permission, and that Stansted would eventually be able to handle passenger numbers of 76 million per year by 2030.

Mike Clasper, Chief Executive Officer of BAA, said: “We’ve worked very hard in the last two years to ensure that Stansted G2 will deliver great value to the UK economy, to our airlines and to people using the airport. We’ve also examined in great detail the environmental impacts of the project, in order to ensure that they are reduced as far as possible.

“Now we’re ready to consult with local communities, airline and other stakeholders to test our thinking and improve our plans, prior to their submission for formal planning approval in 2007. If the planning system works as it’s supposed to, and our regulator agrees a satisfactory pricing formula to remunerate our shareholders, the first phase of Stansted G2 can be operational by the end of 2013.”

However, the plans have been opposed by some airline operators, including Ryanair and Easyjet, who fear that they may have to fund the expansion, through higher airport charges.

The Stop Stansted Expansion Group also expressed fears that the proposal would cause damage to the environment. Campaign director Carol Barbone said: “A second runway in any position would be an environmental catastrophe for which there is absolutely no economic justification.”

(KMcA/GB)