Aena will launch the tender for the drafting of the new Master Plan for Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, a key step in the infrastructure's expansion project. The announcement was made by Aena's Chairman and CEO, Maurici Lucena, during his participation in a Matins Esade session on Tuesday.

The starting amount for this tender is €4.45 million, a figure higher than usual for this type of document. According to a statement from Aena, this cost is due to the complexity of the process and the fact that most of the budget will be dedicated to defining environmental guarantees and the required processing before the European Union.

Lucena described the tender as "one of the largest environmental consultancy contracts in Spain in recent years," and stated it would ensure the highest sustainability standards in the strategic environmental assessment.

The total expansion project, agreed upon last June by the Ministry of Transport, the Generalitat (Catalan Government), and Aena, involves an investment exceeding €3.2 billion. "The goal is for the El Prat expansion to be an exemplary project, not only for its investment magnitude but for its environmental ambition and its capacity to place Barcelona on the map of major intercontinental hubs," Lucena noted.

Parallel investments in terminals T1 and T2

While the administrative process for the Master Plan moves forward, Aena is maintaining an investment program of over €800 million for the remodeling of the current terminals.

The actions include the comprehensive refurbishment of Terminal T2. Meanwhile, Terminal T1 will gain 70,000 square meters of surface area, a 15.5% increase, once the works scheduled for 2032 are completed. This work includes repositioning the facade and constructing new roadways.

Furthermore, modernizations are being carried out on the airfield and at security checkpoints, where new carry-on baggage screening technology is being implemented, allowing passengers to pass through without removing liquids or electronic devices.

"The ongoing investments ensure that El Prat continues to grow in competitiveness, service quality, and sustainability, while we advance the expansion process," affirmed Lucena.

Project timeline

Aena's planned schedule includes starting the necessary studies for the Master Plan's processing during the second quarter of 2026.

The final approval of the document is expected by the end of 2029, once the strategic environmental assessment and consultation with the European Commission are completed. Following that approval, the expansion works themselves would begin, starting with land acquisition and the application of environmental compensatory measures.