Hotel tycoon Surinder Arora’s company has put forward an alternative plan for a third runway at Heathrow, asserting it would deliver ample capacity without the need to disrupt the M4 motorway.
This proposal is one of two privately financed schemes currently under government consideration for expanding the west London airport.
Heathrow’s current owners advocate for a full-length, 3,500-metre runway, a project that would necessitate the diversion of the M25.
In contrast, Arora Group is seeking approval for a shorter, 2,800-metre runway, which they claim would circumvent the need to relocate the motorway entirely.
Responding to a government request for further details, Arora Group highlighted that its ‘Heathrow West’ scheme would not only avoid the M25 but also negate the requirement to lower the M4 spur carriageway.
Their submission states that a 2,800-metre runway is capable of accommodating all aircraft types and handling 99.3 per cent of flights within a three-runway system.
The company further asserted that its proposal would allow Heathrow’s annual capacity to exceed 756,000 flights, surpassing the 2015 Airports Commission-backed plan by 16,000.
Crucially, the estimated cost of the Arora plan stands at approximately £23 billion, which is 30 per cent less than the rival bid from Heathrow’s owners. This, they argue, would result in around "£10 billion in savings and translate to substantially lower charges for airlines and passengers".
By the end of this month, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will announce the single scheme being taken forward to inform the remainder of her review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which will provide the framework for making decisions on airport growth.
Mr Arora said: “This is a once-in-a-generation moment to finally deliver the expanded Heathrow that many in the airline and airport community have called for.
“As set out by the Secretary of State, expansion cannot mean turning ‘the M25 into Europe’s largest car park’ and Heathrow West clearly demonstrates that it doesn’t need to.
“We are especially delighted to also now confirm we can avoid disrupting the M4 as well as the M25 which further makes the case for our scheme when compared to the alternative.
“Now is the time for the Government to consider the two schemes and we look forward to further engagement.”
Carlton Brown, chief executive of Heathrow West, said: “For too long Heathrow has blamed its ‘central London location’ and airline demands as a reason why the world’s most expensive airport cannot be transformed into the world’s best.
“We have shown that by bringing world-class delivery partners together, listening to the airline community, and learning from Heathrow’s more successful peers around the world, we can deliver an alternative approach, without delay, to give this critical national infrastructure the transformation Britain deserves.”
The partners include infrastructure company Bechtel, which has acted as a technical adviser.
The proposal from Heathrow’s owners would require a new M25 tunnel and bridges to be built 130 metres to the west of the existing motorway.
Traffic would be switched to the new route during overnight closures.
Speaking at an aviation conference in Westminster last week, Heathrow’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye said building a shorter runway would cost “almost the same” as a full-length version but deliver “much less capacity”.
At the same event, British Airways’ chief executive Sean Doyle said “if you can avoid moving the M25, you should”, and “I think we should look at ways of potentially building a shorter runway”.
Airlines have expressed concern at the impact on passenger charges from Heathrow expansion.
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