ADR COMMITMENT IN ROME AIRPORT SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
A goal that is also a big challenge to modernise Italy: implementing a project to upgrade Fiumicino to the standards of the most advanced airports in the world (55 million passengers in 2020, 100 million passengers in 2040) in a short time 

At last, now this goal may be reached thanks to the Italian Government engagement, as proved by  the amendment to the new charge scheme included  in law 102/09 (so-called anti-crisis decree) for airports systems counting over 10 million passengers as well as by the opening of bilateral agreements that have paved the way for providing Rome airport system with the right tools to compete at international level.

The capital expenditure planned for the development of Fiumicino airport amounts to 3.6 billion euro up to 2020, with the aim to construct infrastructures destined to improve the airport capacity and service quality standards:

• operation of the new pier C;
• completion of the works of the new A boarding area that will allow to complete the infrastructure  allocated to Alitalia;
• construction of the new BHS (outbound and transit baggage handling system);
• opening of a new multi-storey car park and of a new automated people mover;
• a new runway;
• new real estate infrastructures to improve recreational and hospitality capacity and passenger service.

The first module of the new North terminal will start operating in 2020: by doubling the current airport capacity, it will upgrade Fiumicino to a traffic volume of 100 million passengers/year. The new terminal will be built in accordance with the highest quality, technology, comfort and aesthetics standards in the North side of the airport area and will have a total capacity of 50 million passengers.  The terminal layout will be such to guarantee  a high number of gates assisted by loading bridges (over 70 per cent). 
 
This important commitment is based on assumptions indispensable to ensure the project implementation:

• adequate financial resources
  Resources must be raised from the market through an adequate charge scheme capable of ensuring over time the process to generate the revenues necessary to fund investments;
• short time
  The implementation procedure shall envisage fast authorisation processes - while fully complying with all regulations -.  In fact it is necessary to cut time as much as possible to recover any accumulated delays;
• bilateral agreements
  Critical element for the development of Country accessibility;
• Airport access-connectivity infrastructures
  Development of road and railway accessibility/connectivity including direct connection with High Speed Train network.

 

“Airports contributing to Italy economic growth”

Fabrizio Palenzona, Chairman of Aeroporti di Roma

Introduction:

• For airports all over the world, and in particular for European airports, their capacity to deliver high quality services to passengers is directly related to their capacity to constantly invest in development and innovation as well as in infrastructures so to anticipate expected traffic volume growth. 

 

• In the current international economic situation, capex plans cannot rely any more on state grants only, which have become volatile, and cannot be limited by a conservative management of revenues. 

 

• In Europe, however, competitiveness will play a key role in relation to service improvement and infrastructure growth: the capacity to keep traffic volume and to increase it by providing a strategic service to satisfy domestic economy will depend on investments. All major European hubs are going in this direction and most of them (like Heathrow, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna) are engaged in the construction of other large infrastructures.

 

In Italy: 

• Italian airports were “frozen" over the last ten years, compressed between a constant erosion of their charges (the airports of Lazio Region recorded a real 17% drop) and a regulatory and bureaucratic framework incompatible with development needs. But today we turn over a new leaf and for the first time foundations are laid in Italy for a “country system of airports”.

 

• The anti-crisis decree launched by the Italian Government last August and the affirmation of principles and certainties paved the way for planning capex and for filling the infrastructure and quality gap against European competitors. By a marginal intervention on charges and an important simplification of administrative procedures, a financial flywheel is launched that allows airports (that now are also in a position to implement their capex plans through a planning agreement entered into directly with ENAC) to immediately invest and to promptly respond, with a specific commitment in terms of purpose contribution, as regards new infrastructures and, hence, service quality.

 

• This is really a vital turning point marked also by the collaboration between the two main airport operators, SEA and ADR, that are presenting together to the Government their industrial and capex plans up to 2020 and 2040: in total 17 works under execution at SEA and ADR, for a total capex amount of 5 billion euro by 2020 and of about 14 billion by 2040: in view of extra 2,500 jobs every one million passenger achieved.

 

• ADR launches the project Aeroporto Italia, which means to release also the first functional module of the new North terminal and to complete the works aimed at restyling and improving the efficiency of the existing terminals.