Foment proposes to extend the airport's third runway by 840 meters, raising it above La Ricarda

The bet to extend the third runway of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport to operate as an intercontinental hub has been on the table for years, with drawbacks that have hindered its activation until now, among which one stands out: the preservation of the La Ricarda lagoon. Foment del Treball has launched a proposal that aims to make both elements compatible, which consists of extending the runway 840 meters to the north, but doing so over the lagoon using a system of pylons. The proposal has generated criticism from various fields and actors, including the Port de Barcelona, which has warned that this option generates "serious potential impacts" on its infrastructure.

Through this proposal studied by the commission promoted by Foment, the runway would be elevated to a height of about two meters above the water level of La Ricarda, which would allow it to be extended without making this natural space disappear. In addition, Foment has developed environmental improvement proposals, which include creating a new lagoon and recovering the water connection between the various spaces of the Llobregat delta.

This is one of the 11 proposals for the airport analyzed by the expert commission created by the employers' association 13 months ago. The idea of locating the runway above the lagoon arose after the possibility of creating a runway over the sea with a similar elevated system was raised. This was explained at the presentation of the conclusions by the president of the commission, Lluís Moreno; the doctor engineer of roads and development director of Esteyco, Imma Estrada, and the president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre.

Thus, the possibility of elevating the runway leaving space for the water of La Ricarda was proposed by the members of the commission, while the other valued proposals came from spaces external to the group. Specifically, the proposal suggests extending the runway 840 meters to reach a total of 3,500, a sufficient length to ensure that any aircraft on the market can take off, even in the worst conditions. The structure that would be above the lagoon, according to this proposal, would be about 300 meters long by about 200 meters wide, and would be located about two meters above the water level to try to preserve underwater biodiversity.

And, what would be the cost? The report does not quantify it, but points out that it would probably involve adding more than 200 million to Aena's initial proposal, which consisted of extending the runway with an embankment. Despite this increase in cost, the employers' association's document assures that it would be covered by the market, improving Aena's forecast, according to Moreno. The commission also proposes that the runway be built as an embankment with permeable material, and that it can be extended by combining both the pylon system and the porous embankment system.

Reluctance from the Port of Barcelona

Extending the runway to the north could affect the operation of the Port of Barcelona and be a limiting factor for crane height. For this reason, Foment has assured that they are committed to working on the matter jointly with the port infrastructure. Precisely its president, Lluís Salvadó, warned in a letter this Monday that Foment's proposal "puts at risk" the future of port activity. In the letter, he assured that he has repeatedly warned of these potential affects, especially for the container terminal of the future Moll Catalunya, which requires a crane height that might not be compatible with aircraft takeoffs.

Despite this warning from the port, the 49 experts from 21 entities that have been part of the employers' association's commission have concluded that this option is the most suitable among the 11 studied, along with the possibility of restoring independent operation of El Prat's runways. This model implies that all aircraft can both take off and land from any runway at convenience, something that does not happen now. Currently, aircraft take off from the runway near the sea and land on the inland runway. The reason? To try to minimize the noise generated by the infrastructure and its operation for citizens.

Recovering the operation of independent runways is, according to the report, the best option from an operational point of view, as it would allow wide-body aircraft to use the inner runway, which is wider than the one closer to the sea. However, Foment takes into account the significant acoustic impact it would generate in the airport's surroundings. Aircraft noise currently affects about 3,500 people, and if planes also took off from the inner runway, this figure would rise to 75,000, reaching "almost to Sitges," according to Moreno. He recalled that soundproofing homes is very different in a Mediterranean environment than in a Nordic one, since the lifestyle of the populations surrounding El Prat largely takes place outdoors, and not inside buildings, so soundproofing does not solve the acoustic problem.

Extending the runway over La Ricarda and having two independent runways are the two options that the employers' association has indicated as the most appropriate, among the 11 it has analyzed. These have also included the approach launched by Aena in 2021 to extend the runway 500 meters over La Ricarda, which was presented "too hastily," according to Moreno. The possibility of extending the runway and complementing it with a clear way, which reserves air space monitored by the control tower but without the need to pave or move earth, has also been studied. This is in line with the proposal launched by Barcelona Global to advance the expansion of El Prat. It is compatible with Foment's proposal to go over La Ricarda without destroying it, extending what Barcelona Global proposes over the water.

The commission has ruled out options such as building a 3,500-meter runway over the sea

Environmental impact

The commission's conclusions advocate taking advantage of a possible expansion of the Airport to improve its surrounding natural environment. It proposes restoring the hydrological connection between the lagoons, and also creating a new "tailor-made" wetland area that will be a space for submarine biodiversity and also for birds, Estrada highlighted. Thus, it considers that La Ricarda, now "degraded," can be "recovered," and this new space created to compensate for the airport's impact. Specifically, they propose creating a new wetland core of 235 meters, adding 184 to the 50 already existing. This measure would imply the expropriation of 90 hectares of productive agricultural land, a "very small part" of the agricultural area of the Llobregat delta, according to Moreno.

Sánchez Llibre emphasized that, during the 13 months that the commission's work lasted, proposals were discussed with the administrations, which he urged to "start seeking the necessary consensuses" for the airport to be an intercontinental hub: "If they don't, we will demand accountability. The work of the entrepreneurs ends today." Foment will send its conclusions to the president of the central government, Pedro Sánchez; to the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, to the mayors of affected cities and to representatives of institutions and unions, among others.

"Now is the time, because it's either now, or never. If we let this opportunity pass, we will be responsible for a great collective failure. Our future is at stake," Sánchez Llibre warned. In the same vein, the president of the Unió de Federacions Esportives de Catalunya (Ufec), Gerard Esteve, expressed himself. He intervened on behalf of the commission members to argue that civil society has done its job, and that now is the time for "administrations to rise to the occasion."

Sánchez Llibre asks administrations to work to find consensuses: "If they don't, we will demand accountability."

Reactions to the expectation and from criticism

Foment's conclusions have generated reactions in various fields and administrations. The acting Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, has maintained that the proposal shows that there is a need to expand the airport, and has assured that it is up to the Generalitat to "make a move." The former mayor of Gavà has also maintained that, for the central government, the best option is the one already presented by Aena. For its part, the Barcelona City Council has ruled out evaluating Foment's proposal, and has announced that it will analyze it in the recently created Infrastructure Advisory Committee, as stated by Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet.

The mayor of El Prat de Llobregat, Lluís Mijoler, has already reacted to the proposal. He has criticized it, assuring that it is an "obsolete and failed" project that goes against common sense, according to him. The Zeroport platform has also criticized the proposal. In statements to the press in front of Foment's headquarters before the presentation of the conclusions, they announced that they reject "any approach that involves increasing the number of flights," according to their spokesperson Jaume Osete.