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London's busiest airport unveils 20-bln-USD expansion project

Xinhua, July 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

London's Heathrow Airport on Wednesday unveiled details of a privately funded expansion costing almost 20 billion U.S. dollars to accommodate a third runway.

Heathrow and its London rival, Gatwick, are both bidding to be chosen to create extra capacity in the London area for air transport.

A report for the government by the Airports Commission has already favoured Heathrow as the preferred choice for a new runway.

The government has already put off any decision until October at the earliest, with Theresa May rejecting a call during her first Prime Minister's Question Time Wednesday to name a date when a choice will be made as quickly as possible.

Bosses at Heathrow said Wednesday that internationally renowned British architects Grimshaw have been chosen to devise the concept for the airport.

"Grimshaw brings their experience of working on major transport projects across the world and were recognised as the stand out practice to help Heathrow deliver a world-class sustainable airport that will deliver innovation in passenger service whilst showcasing the best of British design," said a spokesman at Heathrow.

Head of Design at Heathrow, Barry Weekes, said: "With the concept architect and program client partners now in place, we are now ready to begin the process of expansion once the government makes the right choice for the whole of Britain."

At a time of uncertainty following the result of Britain's referendum on its European Union membership, the government can send the strongest possible signal that Britain is open for business and confident in its future by expanding Heathrow, experts say.

The 16 billion pounds(21.11 billion U.S. dollars) privately funded infrastructure investment would be a much needed boost for the economy, creating jobs and growth across Britain.

Plans for the expansion of air services in the southeast around the main London hubs have been under discussion for some years, but are regarded as a political hot potato, mainly because of strong opposition to a third runway being built at Heathrow. Endit