Maurici Lucena (Aena) at Esade Matins presents the new masterplan for El Prat expansion: “We intend this project to be exemplary”
Aena president and CEO, Maurici Lucena, championed the need to expand the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, where “technical capacities are already stretched to the limit.” During his talk at Esade Matins, organized by Esade Alumni, Lucena announced the upcoming tender for the new masterplan: a roadmap for the sustainable growth of infrastructure.
The Aena president explained that the tender will have a budget of €4.45m, earmarked mainly for environmental measures and safeguards, and underlined that this masterplan will be one of the biggest environmental consulting contracts of recent years in Spain and will ensure the application of “the highest sustainability and transparency standards” to the strategic environmental assessment.
Lucena revealed the different phases involved in the new masterplan: technical and environmental surveys to start in 2026; final approval is scheduled for late 2029, and the expansion to be built between 2032 and 2034, including extending the sea runway by 500 meters and optimizing the flight field.
He reminded the audience that this expansion is part of an institutional agreement between the Ministry of Transport, the Generalitat and Aena, and envisages overall investment of more than €3.2bn intended to transform El Prat into a European benchmark of innovation and sustainability. “I’m optimistic. I can now see the project taking off,” said Lucena.
Meanwhile, during the development of the new masterplan, Aena is implementing an investment program of more than €800m to modernize terminals T1 and T2. Terminal 1 will gain an additional 70,000 sq.m. (an increase of 15.5% on its current size) by relocating its façade and building new roads, whilst Terminal 2 will be completely overhauled.
New hand luggage screening technologies are also being installed. This will streamline security checks and eliminate the need to remove liquids or electronic devices. Lucena insisted that the project aims to strike a balance between economic progress, sustainability and territorial cohesion, and emphasized that “Aena’s general interest is in keeping with the specific interests of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain.”
Esade Matins, organized by Esade Alumni with the sponsorship of CriteriaCaixa, are a benchmark meeting point where business leaders can share their experiences, strategic challenges and vision of the future. In this session, Maurici Lucena was accompanied by Carles Torrecilla, professor in the Esade Marketing Department, and Patricia Valentí, director of Esade Alumni.
