Opening dates are the most quoted — and most misquoted — numbers in any infrastructure project. Here is what each source actually said.
How the opening date moved
- May 2024 plan — first runway: 2030
- May 2024 plan — second runway: 2031
- July 2026 schedule — construction: 2029–2033
- July 2026 schedule — rail link: 2034
- July 2026 schedule — opening: from 2035
- Reported, unverified — opening: 2037
May 2024
Announcing its choice of Alcochete, the Government said the first runway should be built in 2030 and the second in 2031. Those dates came before the concession procedure had produced a technical report.
July 2026
The schedule presented with the technical report has construction starting in 2029 and finishing by 2033, with opening ‘from 2035’ after tests and certification. The rail link is to open in 2034.
September 2026
The Government said it wants to work with ANA to shorten timescales and bring opening forward compared with ‘the calendar currently proposed by the concessionaire’. That wording implies the concessionaire’s own programme runs later than the Government would like.
And 2037?
Reporting at the time described 2037 as the concessionaire’s longer schedule. We have not found a primary document that says so. Until we do, it stays on our promise tracker as ‘unverified’.
How to read the change
The 2024 and 2026 dates describe different things — runways built versus an airport certified and open — produced at different stages of design. The shift is real and worth tracking. It is not, on its own, evidence of bad faith.