A billionaire businessman has announced rival plans for the controversial Heathrow expansion.
The drama over Heathrow Airport’s planned expansion has taken a new twist after property tycoon Surinder Arora’s company revealed its rival proposal, which avoids having to divert the M25 to build the third runway.
The Arora Group has drawn up plans to build a new terminal and a shorter, 1.7-mile new runway instead of the full-length, 2.17-mile runway Heathrow proposed.
The company, founded by the hotel and property businessman Surinder Arora, said the new Heathrow West proposal offers ‘faster delivery, reduced costs and improved environmental impact.’
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
While a shorter limit could limit the runway use, Arora Group said it will be able to fit aircraft of all sizes.
Heathrow has now said it is open to considering a shorter one as it submitted its latest plan today.
This is the first time there will be two competing bids to build the third runway, which is not a cheap affair.
Cost-wise, Arora Group’s plan has a price tag of around £25 billion.
Heathrow’s proposal for the third runway has been estimated to cost at least £21 billion to add 260,000 more flights each year.
To revamp the terminals and the supporting infrastructure, the total cost of Heathrow’s plan would be £49 billion.
Inside Heathrow’s latest proposal
Heathrow submitted its latest expansion plan today to boost annual passenger numbers from 84 million to 150 million, saying the plan is ‘shovel-ready.’
Under Heathrow’s plan, the M25 would need to be moved inside a tunnel running under the new runway.
The new terminal complex would be named T5XW and T5XN. Existing Terminal 2 would be extended, while old Terminal 3 and Terminal 1 will be demolished.
Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s CEO, said: ‘It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow.
‘We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity.
‘With a green light from Government and the correct policy support underpinned by a fit-for-purpose, regulatory model, we are ready to mobilise and start investing this year in our supply chain across the country.
‘We are uniquely placed to do this for the country. It is time to clear the way for take-off.’
Arora Group said the new runway could be up and running by 2035, while the terminal hub would open in two phases – in 2036 and 2040.
Heathrow Airport declined to comment on the rival plan when contacted by Metro.
Mr Arora, who is one of the largest landowners at Heathrow and who has close links to aviation, said: ‘After a decade working with our world leading design and delivery team, I am very proud that the Arora Group can finally unveil to the UK Government our Heathrow West proposal, which directly meets and supports the United Kingdom’s primary objective of unlocking economic growth at the UK’s only hub airport, with a strong commitment of doing so on- budget and on-time.
‘I am so proud to stand alongside Bechtel, and their record of delivering almost 200 airport projects, on these detailed plans. The Heathrow West proposal delivers squarely on the Secretary of State’s and Chancellor’s ambition to obtain planning permission by the end of this Parliament, with a fully operational runway by 2035.
‘The Arora Group has a proven track record of delivering on time and on budget projects including in and around Heathrow Airport. We are delighted that the Government has taken a common sense approach to invite proposals from all interested parties for the very first time rather than granting exclusivity to the current airport operator, no matter its track record.’
How did we get here?
Heathrow bosses have been pushing for the third runway for years, saying that the UK’s biggest airport is full. The proposal was given initial green light by Rachel Reeves, but the plans, which were submitted today, still need to go through the formal planning steps.
The plan, funded by private investment, is to upgrade Terminals T2 and T5, reconfigure the airfield layout and improve transport connections along with the third runway.
While Heathrow was working on its final proposal, Arora Group decided to swoop in with its rival plan to ramp up the competition.
But a third runway at Heathrow has faced criticism from the start.
Many residents are against the expansion as homes and businesses near the airport land face demolition, with up to 700 buildings reportedly at risk.
Increased noise and pollution levels are also a concern.
Dr Douglas Parr, a policy director for Greenpeace UK, labelled the Heathrow expansion saga a ‘flying circus.’
He said that thousands living on and around the proposed new runway site ‘will see their lives put on hold for a few more years while more money and time is wasted on a doomed scheme to export more tourism wealth out of the UK in the most polluting way possible, until everyone is forced to admit that there will never be enough genuinely ‘sustainable aviation fuel’ to reduce the industry’s emissions, and the economic case for the whole debacle just will not fly.’
Dr Parr added: ‘If the government really wants a credible, properly sustainable aviation policy it needs to introduce a frequent flier levy so that the wealthy binge fliers pay their fair share, and no expansion should take place until the proposed technical fixes to the pollution problem are more than just hopeful marketing spin.’
Meanwhile, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he remains opposed to the third runway because of ‘the severe impact it will have in terms of noise, air pollution and meeting our climate change targets.’
Heathrow Airport in numbers
Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports as planes take off or land up to every 45 seconds across the two existing runways.
It is set to see 84.2 million passengers pass through its terminals this year – an increase of 0.4% from the 83.9 million last year.
Two existing runways have a capacity for around 475,000 flights. The new runway would raise the capacity to around 740,000 flights.
Around one-third of the UK’s long-haul flights go through Heathrow, Chancellor Reeves said.
She said the expansion could create more than 100,000 jobs.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.