How can Heathrow reduce its major expansion plans cost by £2.5bn?

Heathrow has identified ways to reduce the cost of its airport expansion plans by £2.5bn.

The plans, originally submitted to the Airports Commission in 2015, would have cost over £16bn, but the revised option could be delivered without compromise.

The proposals - to be released as part of Heathrow’s public planning consultation in January 2018 - have been developed in close cooperation with the airlines and would ensure that Heathrow expanded with airport charges staying close to today’s levels.

Heathrow’s executive director of expansion, Emma Gilthorpe, said: “The Secretary of State set us the challenge to deliver an expanded airport for Britain with passenger charges staying close to current levels.

“We have now identified potential savings of £2.5bn and are increasingly confident we can meet the affordability challenge. We are looking forward to presenting detailed options on how to do it in our consultation in January.

Gilthorpe went on to say that the airport “will not compromise on local commitments” despite them working to “reduce the cost of expansion”.

The options that would enable the identified £2.5bn cost reductions involve the repositioning of new buildings over existing public transport and baggage infrastructure.

Furthermore, technological advancements are said to reduce the amount of terminal space needed for passengers.

Heathrow is to launch a 10-week public planning consultation which will run from January 17 to March 28 2018. This is set to give the public an opportunity to provide feedback on Heathrow’s expansion proposals.

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