Heathrow’s billionaire bidder: I’ll put every penny I have on more third runway delays
The billionaire hotel tycoon behind a rival bid to develop Heathrow’s third runway has said there is “no way” the proposal put forward by the airport’s owner can be delivered on time, even after the megaproject was delayed by four years.
Surinder Arora, whose eponymous property group is spearheading the ‘Heathrow West’ bid to build and manage the multibillion-pound expansion, said he and several airlines had commissioned research that found the incumbent Heathrow Airport Limited’s (HAL) plan was not deliverable until 2042 at the earliest.
“There is no way that project can be delivered and operational by 2039,” he told City AM, adding: “It’s just not going to happen.”
Arora was speaking shortly after Heathrow’s owner conceded the ambitious 2035 deadline set by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves was not achievable at the current rate of progress, saying flights could instead be up and running a decade after the planning application was approved.
Airlines including British Airways owner IAG and Virgin Atlantic have long been warning that the original timeline – which aimed to have spades in the ground by 2029 – was unrealistic and needed to be delayed.
But Arora, whose plans have been drawn up airport specialists including Bechtel and Changi, says that even the delayed target is impossible if ministers opt for HAL’s more expansive design, which includes plans to build over the M25 and relocate a number of lakes surrounding the hub. “I will put every penny of mine and all my hotels” on HAL’s scheme being delayed beyond 2040, he added.
Britain ‘needs the growth’ from Heathrow expansion
After HAL’s original design was chosen by ministers, Heathrow West drew up a revised proposal to build the expansion in two distinct phases. The first of those stages would be ready by 2035 and involve initially building a new terminal and a shorter 2,800m runway, which would be used for shorter-haul and smaller planes. The second phase, which Heathrow West says would be ready for the new delayed deadline assuming ministers still wish to proceed, would extend that runway to 3,500m.
Andy Burnham’s new government has been less explicitly supportive of the third runway project than its predecessor, and the Prime Minister has so far failed to give it his full-throated support. In an interview on Sunday, the former Manchester mayor refused to say whether he backed the expansion, instead telling the BBC it was “up to Londoners” to decide the project’s fate.
MPs had been expected to vote on the planning statement against which proposals will be judged later this year, but that vote is now not expected until early 2027, a person familiar with the process said.
Arora said that abandoning the project was the wrong move and the nation “needed the expansion and the growth”.
“The government needs to take a step back, take a deep breath, and look at all the options, and they can now then see we’ve got a credible option,” he added. “I very much hope that they’ll see, actually, this is something that we should now look at seriously and say, ‘Well, this is going to be more real. This is going to be deliverable [and] affordable.'”
A Heathrow Airport Limited spokeswoman said: “Expanding Heathrow requires a credible plan and proven delivery. We run one of the world’s leading hub airports and understand what it takes to deliver major infrastructure in London. Our privately funded proposal is detailed, achievable, and has been shaped by a decade of scrutiny and engagement – which is why government selected it as the only credible option.
“While Mr Arora is a valued stakeholder, he has never run or constructed an airport and has put forward three different proposals in 18 months. His latest lacks the level of detail expected for a project of this importance.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “There is currently no live planning application for a third runway, and we cannot comment on ongoing consultation processes or prejudice them in a way that will only delay progress.
“The timeline has always been ambitious. We’ll continue to work with promoters, including Heathrow, and all other stakeholders at pace to ensure the right framework is in place for which a planning application for a third runway could be considered.”