New Tokyo International Airport, which owns and operates Tokyo's Narita Airport, has applied for Ministry of Transport approval to construct a second runway by November 2001. Construction is expected to begin later this year. The proposed runway would be 2,180m (7,200ft) long, rather than the 2,500m previously planned. The airport company says it will extend the new runway to 2,500m if it can an agree with farmers who own the land. The Mexican Government is poised to seek bids for the privatisation of a further 13 airports including Monterrey, Chihuahua, Tampico and the holiday resort airports of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo. Lille Airport in northern France is to invest Fr255 million ($42 million) by 2006, renovating runways and increasing capacity for freight handling. It is the twelfth-busiest airport in France and grew by 13% in the year to August, handling a record 668,200 passengers. Plans by British Airways, airport operator BAA and Railtrack to build a £170 million ($283 million) rail link to Heathrow, connecting the airport with the south and west of England have inched forward with the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the three companies to pursue the Airtrack project. Following a request for offers, two companies have shown interest in taking over Antwerp Deurne Airport from Belgium's Flemish regional government. The interested parties include a newly formed Antwerp Airport Company (AAC), grouping various Antwerp business interests, and US airport operator Bechtel. AAC is proposing to modernise the terminal building, extend the single runway from 1,500m to 2,000m and construct a tunnel under the runway. Work is to begin early next year on a new terminal building and associated infrastructure at Liverpool Airport in the UK. The £38 million investment will allow the airport to handle up to 3 million passengers a year by 2008.
Source: Flight International
