Aena revitalizes protected areas to convince Europe of the new expansion of El Prat airport

ViladecansIt has taken more than twenty years, but Aena is finally getting its act together to complete the environmental compensation measures it had outstanding from the previous expansion of Barcelona Airport, which involved the construction of Terminal T1. This comes in the wake of the infringement proceedings initiated by the European Commission. opened In 2021, Spain was sanctioned for not doing enough to conserve the Llobregat Delta following complaints filed by Depana. This presents a clear obstacle for the company chaired by Mauricio Lucena. can return The expansion of El Prat Airport will have new environmental impacts that have also sparked public opposition and require European approval.

The airport operator will work on 75,000 square meters located in Viladecans, next to Terminal 1. This is where Aena built a taxi rank, a bus parking area, and several roads, encroaching on Can Sabadell, a protected area that is part of the Natura 2000 network. Everything will now have to be dismantled to recover the sandy terrain and the streams that existed decades ago, with the aim of removing the existing infrastructure. Besides removing the asphalt and cement that was poured, the electrical and lighting installations will also be dismantled, as well as disused airport infrastructure, such as an old runway approach lighting system.

Once everything is removed, native vegetation from wetlands and the Llobregat Delta wetlands, such as rushes and irises, will be planted, and the invasive species that have proliferated during all these years of neglect will be eliminated. No soil will be added to encourage the gradual recovery of the lost ecosystem. The existing roads will be replaced with dirt tracks, and the current bike path will be maintained, expanding the routes that many residents use in the area and offering a new prime spot to watch planes land when the runway configuration allows, as was the case this Tuesday afternoon.

Part of this renaturalization has already begun in the area beyond the Castelldefels highway, where there used to be a parking lot and where an old stream, previously covered by asphalt, has now reappeared. Despite the constant noise of the planes landing at the airport above this area on Tuesday, a pair of ducks had already managed to reclaim the space.

Since February 2023, work has been carried out on 25,000 square meters, and 50,000 square meters remain to be completed. This remaining area was originally intended for taxis but was instead used by buses. Construction will begin in September of this year and is expected to continue until the end of 2027. The total budget is approximately three million euros.