Fears of local residents as Fiumicino Rome airport plans to add another two runways
Fiumicino airport is the main airport for Rome, and the largest in Italy. It has around 34 million passenger per year now, and 3 runways (4th not often in use). It plans to build two more runways by 2044 (and four new terminals) and grow its number of passengers to 100 million per year. Fiumicino airport is located near the coast, and the land where runways are planned is close to the state nature reserve for the Roman coast. There is also an important neolithic site, with the first evidence of use of the horse in Europe. The local community group, Comitato Fuoripista, oppose the doubling in size of the airport, with the predictable environmental consequences. It is not clear that doubling the airport’s size can be justified economically. Now residents are alarmed that there has been drilling in the area, already prone to subsidence and flooding, and that this is for runway plans. The authorities claim the drilling, done without the proper consents from the local authority, is for normal monitoring. The Benetton family have a 95% stake in Airports of Rome, (ADR) that owns Fiumicino airport.
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Fiumicino airport has 4 runways, though one is used mainly for taxiing, and so they want to build a 4th. (or actually a 5th. There may be plans eventually for a 6th runway).
The local community group is Comitato Fuoripista http://www.comitatofuoripista.it/ They say they are united against a doubling in size of the airport. And they want their airport better, not bigger.
They said, on 24th November:
“The local Committee is totally dissatisfied with the response that the mayor gave during question time of Tuesday, November 18 last year related to drilling and geological surveys made by Rome Airports outside the airport grounds and in full State Natural Reserve of the Coast Romano. We believe that the Mayor has failed in its task of institutional control of the territory, and – as the managing body of the Reserve – it the guardian put in place to safeguard this reserve.”
The Comitato Fiuripista website also says:
The drilling and surveys in the Roman Coast flood reserve continue undisturbed without authorisation
17.11.2014 (Comitata Fuoripista)
For more than a week since the beginning, today November 17 continue without any authorization drilling and geological surveys on behalf of ADR within the State Natural Reserve of the Roman Coast, both in Zone 1 (maximum protection) and in Zone 2, despite the art. 7 and 8 of the Decree of the Ministry of the Environment March 29, 1996 establishing the reserve are very clear about it.
And this happens even after:
our Exposed presented to the local Carabinieri and sent to all relevant authorities for information;
that the President of the Commission of the Reserve and the Mayor of Fiumicino have both denied receiving requests for authorizations by ADR for these interventions and / or to have granted;
the “reassuring” Press where ADR states that ongoing interventions unique to the third track and have nothing to do with “the possible expansion of the airport.”
Indeed now these surveys are made right into the “centers” – that is, on privately owned land of Condominiums – coincidentally just in the areas affected by more than third track, by doubling the Airport. Today, in fact some owners of the center 7 Via Campo Salino have seen coming from inside the inner streets of condominium property, in charge of the company that, without any authorization, were proceeding to the interventions of leveling for the company in charge of ADR.
So ongoing interventions continue to be made within the Reserve without the necessary authorization by the independent manager of the Reserve – ie the Municipality of Fiumicino – and now even without any request for permission even to landowners.
Citizens expect clear answers and accountability on the part of the relevant bodies.
The many mysteries surrounding the Millennium affair
1.12.2014
(Apologies for poor translation from the original Italian ….)
http://pontiniaecologia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/fiumicino-lavori-ampliamento-aeroporto.html
Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino airport expansion. The drills and the many mysteries surrounding the airport deal of the millennium
Leonardo Da Vinci Extras digging without permission on private plots of land. The company that manages the airport said these are: “Normal security checks”. But people fear that we are moving towards the realization of doubling of the structure. A twenty billion euro business, considered by many as unnecessary and at the expense of the citizens
By Alessio Nannini
Imagine finding suddenly, in front of your houses, wells being drilled and workmen to carrying out coring work where just a few hours before there was just a simple plot for cultivation. All without any warning, and without permission having been requested from the competent authorities. How would it be possible, you ask yourself.
Yet, all this happened three weeks ago in the land immediately outside the airport of Fiumicino, to the north to Maccarese and moreover in the Roman Coast Nature Reserve.
And this is on the most recent of the “mysteries” surrounding a massive project, among the largest ever made in Italy, and therefore involving a very large amount of money.
We are talking about doubling the size of Leonardo da Vinci airport and a total estimated at about € 20 billion, almost four times the costs of the infamous Bridge of Messina.
But step back a few years to understand what is happening at the gates of the capital. We are in October 2009. Airports of Rome present to the government and ENAC an ambitious development plan that includes the expansion of air traffic at Fiumicino airport.
Goal: 55 million passengers in 2020 and 100 million in 2040, to be achieved, the President of ADR (Airports of Rome) Fabrizio Palenzona, by virtue of “a grand bargain between investors and institutions. ”
Translated: this means State help to individuals who will go through an enlargement of the structure and a revision of the high airport charges.
To “go” Corrado Passera in: he that last day the Monti Government, as Minister of Development and Economic Infrastructure, got to the pockets of those who manage the Leonardo da Vinci a tax increase from €16 per passenger to €26.50 and gave endorsement for doubling of the size of the Rome airport , with more infrastructure outside the airport such as highways, railways, and parking.
The citizens of the affected areas, ie Fiumicino and Maccarese are getting active, the local committee continues a battle born early signals work. This is because the enlargement does not seem to be necessary, they say they have data showing this, having already an airport the size of London’s Heathrow.
To increase traffic enough optimize the airport’s inbound and outbound operations, and not to create new runways, which would undermine local economic activity, as well as the environmental and archaeological heritage.
A fortiori, did not convince the matter of interest and not just random names that move in the matter. A thousand of the 1,300 hectares affected are the property of the Benetton family, which runs them through the Maccarese Spa farm.
Maccarese Spa farm. Benetton own Gemina, [Gemina is an Italian holding company, which owns 95% of ADR – Airports of Rome] . [Atlantia and Gemina are both controlled by the Benetton family’s holding Sintonia. CAI is Changi Airport Group which has a 5% stake in Rome airports.]
When buying the land in 1998 (for 93 billion lire) is were engaged in agreement to preserve its agricultural purpose, unless of an expropriation, which is what could happen. In summary, Benetton would resell to the state with considerable advantage (perhaps of 200 million euro) land taken by IRI, state-owned company, to get funding something also administered from them. Practically, one of the most famous families in the world for selling trousers.
Back to the true story: how was it possible that these drilling that no one knew anything about took place?
The authorization for these operations is required under the Constitutive Act Reserve, and in particular Articles 7 and 8, which prohibit work of this kind unless there has been prior permission, and this was not granted either by the Board of the Reserve or by the municipality of Fiumicino. The Mayor Esterino Montino, who professes contrary to the doubling of the airport, on the Municipal Board extraordinary reported speaking with Lorenzo Lo Presti, Managing Director of ADR, asking if the operations were illegal. Which is like asking all’acquafrescaio if the water is fresh.
And here you go: “We were assured by ADR that the works were not for the fourth runway, and were aimed only to check the seismicity of the area “, Montino explains.
And authorization? “There they said that for these investigations would not be needed, because there was no change the territory. It would have only been a hole of 10cm.”
Moral: In Fiumicino you can still build and drill a well, but to pull up a chicken coop must wait and a thousand years and offical stamps. The citizens of the backland Committee first to intervene on place and to report the episode, do not believe that it was for the analysis of seismicity and say they have photographic evidence of
the amount and the depth of the drilling, material that will be attached (sent?) to the Prosecutor of the Republic. The drilled cores, they say, are used to do geotechnical analysis and check the height of the water table, the constitution of the soil, the amount of ? present here. ie. functional survey information for a billion euro poject, because there at the Leonardo da Vinci airport, during the inauguration for the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960, the main runway subsided due to unsuitable soils.
That was such, and that the construction was over a drained marshy area. It was a stretch, sanctioned by the parliamentary commission inquiry in 1963.
Now on the same area you want to double the airport, where not far away there is already far failed project for inland, for guess what, a clay soil that has sent down the cement sheds of cement. But you known, history repeats itself, the second time as farce.
…. The original Italian is at …
http://pontiniaecologia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/fiumicino-lavori-ampliamento-aeroporto.html
Image show location of the airport, and the land to the west of the runway where another runway is planned (see other image above).
THE GATES OF ROME
It is an Italian town of 74 855 inhabitants, about thirty kilometres from Capital. It is adjacent to the territory of Maccarese, both municipalities are by the sea.
PASSENGER TODAY AND TOMORROW
To carry out the work they require 1,300 acres, the reason given by ADR is that air traffic for Rome will reach 100 million passengers between now and 2044, compared to the current 36 million.
THE LAND OF BENETTON
Over 98% of the land involved is of “Maccarese spa”, purchased in 1998 by Benetton for 93 billion lire. The Benettons own 95% of ADR (Airports of Rome).
Wikipedia
Fiumicino Airport, is Italy’s largest airport with 36.1 million passengers served in 2013.[3] It is located in Fiumicino, 18.9 nautical miles (35.0 km; 21.7 mi) southwest of Rome’s historic city centre.
The airport serves as a hub for Alitalia, the largest Italian airline, and Vueling, a Spanish low-cost carrier owned by International Airlines Group. Based on total passenger numbers, it was the sixth busiest airport in Europe and the world’s 29th busiest airport in 2011. It covers an area of 15 square kilometres (3,700 acres) and is named after Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci.
Since 2005 the airport operates a category III B instrument landing system (ILS). Further improvement work was implemented in 2007 to enable the airport to handle 30 takeoffs/landings per hour, up from 10, in the event of thick fog. Four runways presently operate at Leonardo da Vinci airport: 16L/34R and 16R/34L (separated by a distance of 4,000 m (13,000 ft)), 16C/34C (close to 16L/34R), mostly used as a taxiway or as a backup for 16L/34R, and 07/25, used only westwards for takeoffs owing to the prevailing winds.
In 2010, the new single baggage handling system for more efficient luggage delivery began operations.
Several projects are planned. These include the construction of Pier C (dedicated to international flights) with 16 additional loading bridges, to handle the expected growth from 38 million passengers per year[when?] to 55 million by 2018; and the “Masterplan Fiumicino Nord”, involving four new terminals and two new runways to be built by 2044, when there are estimated to be 100 million passengers per year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci%E2%80%93Fiumicino_Airport
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Atlantia to sell 40% of Rome airports operator ADR
29.10.2014
by Carlo Festa
The reorganization of Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), which is controlled by the Benetton family’s Atlantia highways operator, has begun, and sovereign wealth funds from the Persian Gulf are at the fore, with investors from Abu Dhabi and Kuwait in the lead.
In the last few weeks the Benetton family has hired Goldman Sachs to sell about 40% of the Rome airports operator. The sale, according to a person familiar with the matter, is connected to the UAE’s Etihad Airways’ recent purchase of a controlling stake in Alitalia.
The sale of 40% of ADR, according to the plan, would be done in two tranches of 20% each. For the first 20%, there is a beauty contest under way among some sovereign wealth funds and a select number of infrastructure funds.
Qatar Holding of the royal family in Doha would be among them as well as Wren House, the infrastructure arm of the Kia investment fund of Kuwait. Kia, according to rumors, would be among the most active among the potential buyers and is said to already have had a number of meetings with advisers.
The sale is attracting the interest of a variety of investors: the Rome hub, despite the recession, remains a target of interest from sovereign funds, which are always looking for a regulated activity with high cash flow visibility and a growing air traffic and passenger travel in the medium term.
The second tranche of 20% may already have a buyer: according to two people close to the case, it would be Adia, the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi.
This fund would also be investing in the Alitalia and Etihad deal, since the Rome airport at Fiumicino would represent in the future a fundamental hub for routes from Middle East and Asia.
It can be expected that Adia’s entry in ADR will happen only after Brussels approves the deal between Etihad and Alitalia.
The sale of 40% would allow Atlantia, the infrastructure company controlled by Sintonia (via Edizione, the holding of the Benettons) to monetize part of its investment while keeping a controlling stake of at least 50% of the ADR.
ADR could be valued at €4 billion, so the deal would be worth some €1.6 million.
To be sure, the deal could fetch high: transactions in the airport industry reach multiples of at least 14 times operating profit.
What is more, the flights out of Rome seem the preferred target for Persian Gulf investors because the Italian airport would act as point of entry to Europe from Asia.
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Translation of a Radio Vatican interview:
The local group is called Comitato Fuoripista.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT FIUMICINO WHERE WELL DRILLINGS ARE GOING ON WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION IN THE NATURE RESERVE CALLED RISERVA NATURALE STATALE DEL LITORALE ROMANO.THESE WORKS ARE IN CONTRAST WITH THE DECREE OF THE MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT(DMA 03.29.1996 ) ESTABLISHING THE STATE NATURE RESERVE “Roman Coast “.
JOURNALIST : “WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THESE PREPARATORY WORKS FOR THE FOURTH RUNWAY OF FIUMICINO AIRPORT?”
COMITATO FUORIPISTA SPOKESMAN MASSIMILIANO MATTIUZZO: “COMITATO FUORIPISTA HAS ALWAYS HAD DOUBTS ABOUT THE AIRPORT EXPANSION.WE ARE AGAINST THESE WELL DRILLINGS DONE WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION.THE REAL QUESTION IS “WHO CONTROLS THESE RURAL LANDS?”.WE ASKED TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATURE RESERVE AND HE SAID HE DIDN’T GIVE ANY PERMISSION. IN THE NATURE RESERVE CERTAIN ACTIVITIES ARE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.WE DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY, EVEN IF WE HAVE INFORMED LOCAL AUTHORITIES SUCH AS POLICE ETC. NOBODY HAS ANSWERED AND STOPPED THESE WORKS.”
JOURNALIST :”THERE WAS A LAKE IN THESE RURAL AREAS IN THE PAST, RIGHT?”
- MATTIUZZO :”YES, YES THIS LAKE WAS DRAINED DURING THE INTEGRAL LAND RECLAMATION.IT’S INTERESTING TO ADD THAT A PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY SET UP IN 1961 CONCLUDED THAT THE LANDS WHERE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR AN AIRPORT.THEY SHOULD ALWAYS RESPECT THE LAWS AS WE DO”.
JOURNALIST :” WHAT ARE THE RISKS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?
M.MATTIUZZO “ THE FOURTH RUNWAY IS A TROJAN HORSE FOR DOUBLING THE SIZE OF THE AIRPORT WITH A FURTHER 1,300 HECTARES TOWARDS MACCARESE BEING ADDED TO THE 1,500 HECTARES-SITE.THE PLAN INCLUDES NEW TERMINALS, NEW BOARDING GATES, A NEW RAILWAY STATION LINKED TO ROME, PLUS THE REALIZATION OF A SERIES OF INFRASTRUCTURES. WE THINK THAT ONLY WITH THE INTERVENTIONS PLANNED IN THE EXISTING AREA PASSENGERS NUMBERS WOULD BE EXPANDED FROM ABOUT 35/36MILLION PASSENGERS A YEAR TO 70 MILLION WITHOUT ANY EXTENSION. “
JOURNALIST : “ ARE YOU IN TOUCH WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION?”
- MATTIUZZO : “YES WE ARE IN TOUCH WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION FOR THE FOLLOWING REQUESTS 1)TO IMPOSE A BAN ON NIGHT FLIGHTS(PEOPLE MUST SLEEP AT LEAST 7/8 HOURS PER NIGHT)2)TO PROHIBIT ANY FORM OF INCENTIVE AND SUBSIDIES TO THE AIRPORTS AND 3) TO IMPOSE A TAX ON THE AVIATION FUEL.”
JOURNALIST: “ WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH?”
M.MATTIUZZO: “OUR MAIN STRENGHT RELIES ON THE ITALIAN LAWS.WE ARE NOT AGAINST THE AIRPORT ITSELF BUT AGAINST THE EXTENSION OF THE AIRPORT GROUNDS TO INCLUDE LAND THAT LIES TO THE NORTH OF THE CURRENT COMPLEX AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT NECESSARY.WE MUST RATIONALISE AND RESTRUCTURE THE AIRPORT WE HAVE”
Mud and strikes, but Fiumicino takes off
Airport flooded, crumbling structure: but without Malpensa airport can become aworld hub
By Fabrizio Patti (Linkiesta – Italy)
7.11.2014
….from 2017 to 2021 and plan to invest €350 million, and between 2022 and 2044 to €7 billion euro (Malpensa meanwhile will stop at €1.5 billion until 2030). The development will be north of the airport of Fiumicino: there will be a new terminal, two new runways, 170 new stands for aircraft and a new system of hotels, commercial and management activities, services and parking. The purpose is to bring the airport’s capacity up to 100 million passengers per year.
There is no shortage of obstacles, such as the opposition of the Municipality of Fiumicino for the fourth runway, to be launched in 2016-2017.
There is also harsh opposition from trade unionist Nino Cortorillo, national secretary of Filt CGIL who said: “There is an institutional clash with the Municipality of Fiumicino, which should provide the authorization for the expansion. The tone of the controversy of the City is strong and even low-level, as we speak of the development of the main point of the national transport. ”
The other problem, according to ENAC and MIT, as reported by “ Il Sole 24 Ore” , “are the long time the Committee has taken on the environmental assessment of the new master plan and a procedure (the requirements) that would give substantial veto power to local authorities and the Ministry of Environment, without a superior “upper” state body“ that ultimately decides, even bypassing any dissent. ” A situation that for the airports of Fiumicino, Malpensa and Venice, inserted between the national strategic infrastructure is paradoxically more complicated, because in according to Dl 1/2012 must ask the way for the individual projects (the runway, the terminal, parking, etc.).
We will then, of course, check that the money really arrives, and this will not only depend on the actual increase in passengers that Alitalia-Etihad will bring, but also on the overall economic status of Italy and Europe. “The anticipated growth forecasts of European air traffic have been too optimistic in recent years “ said Stefano Bosisio, head of the transport sector of the European House-Ambrosetti . “Traffic congestion was initially anticipated for 2015, then in the last few years the date been moved forward several times and is now identified in 2030 “.