ANA does not need to win a tender to build the new airport: its concession contract for Portugal’s main airports sets out a procedure for it to apply. That procedure is why most of the key documents so far are ‘reports’ and ‘responses’ rather than approvals.
The approval path: done, under review, still to come
- 14 May 2024Site chosen by Council of Ministers resolutionDone
- 16 July 2025Interim report 1: stakeholder consultationDone
- 20 March 2026Placement at the eastern end validatedDone
- 16 July 2026Technical report deliveredDone
- 31 July 2026Environmental impact study delivered to APADone
- 28 September 2026Government questions the design (not an acceptance)Under review
- 16 January 2027Interim report 4: financial report dueScheduled
- by 16 January 2028Complete application dueScheduled
- —Public consultation and environmental decision (APA)No date set
- —Acceptance of the complete application under the concessionNo date set
- 2029Construction (target 2029–2033)Target only
- from 2035Opening (target: from 2035)Target only
Four interim reports
- Consultation report — delivered 16 July 2025, after consulting more than 100 bodies. The Government replied on 20 October 2025.
- Selected-site and environmental report — answered by the Government on 20 March 2026, validating the placement at the eastern end of the range.
- Technical report — delivered 16 July 2026; answered on 28 September 2026.
- Financial report — due 16 January 2027.
The complete application
The final versions of all reports form the complete application, due by 16 January 2028 at the latest. It will be assessed under the concession contract. The Government has stressed that its comments on interim reports are not acceptance.
Changing the rules
The contract sets minimum specifications for the new airport. In January 2025 the Government told ANA some needed updating; in October 2025 it confirmed that most of ANA’s nine proposed changes were pertinent and that a formal legal process to update them was under way.
Separate tracks
The environmental assessment (APA process AIA 3982), the military relocation, the rail link and the roads all follow their own procedures. A ‘yes’ in one does not imply a ‘yes’ in the others.