Portugal’s environmental protection agency has given a go-ahead for the construction of Lisbon’s second main airport, to be built south of the city at Montijo on land it will share with an existing air force base.
Lisbon’s current airport, close in to the city and squeezed between mountains and water, cannot expand significantly; the search for a new location has stretched over fifty years, and the process for approval for Montijo has taken several years as well.
An Environmental Impact Statement that goes with the approval will require a number of protections and new facilities to balance the impact of the airport on bird life, traffic and noise. Nevertheless, there is still opposition from the Green Party and from some local groups.
A detailed construction plan is expected soon. Since the airport will operate on existing cleared land and runways, terminal construction will be the biggest part of the project.
