AIRPORT SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE

The project aims at improving the degree to which international civil aviation safety standards are being met at airports within the Spanish network owned and operated by Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea (AENA). This is required by the State Agency for Aviation Security (AESA) under the new certification process for Spanish airports. Improvements mainly comprise strip widening and re-profiling, obstacle removal, airfield lighting and navigational aid upgrades.

All airports included in the project form part of the existing trans-European transport network (TEN-T). Four of them form part of the Core Network of the new proposal adopted by the European Commission, with the rest belonging to the Comprehensive Network of such proposal, making the project eligible under Article 309 point (c) common interest. In addition, approximately 45% of the estimated project cost corresponds to project components located in regions qualifying under the convergence objective, making the project partially eligible under Article 309 point (a) projects for developing less-developed regions.

The project components fall under Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EC, leaving the competent authority the decision whether an EIA is required or not. This will be further reviewed and confirmed during appraisal.

The Bank will require the promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been/shall be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation (Dir 2004/18/EEC/ or 2004/17/EEC and Dir. 2007/66/EC), with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where appropriate.