Mexico unveils futuristic design for new $9 billion airport

Mexico’s government on Wednesday unveiled the winning design for a new, futuristic, spider-shaped airport for the capital that will ease delays and boost capacity at a cost of $9.17 billion in public and private funding. British architect Norman Foster and Fernando Romero, a son-in-law of Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, showcased their winning, airy design in the form of an X with arching spans at the presidential palace. The new six-runway project will be built next to the Benito Juarez International Airport on the eastern flank of Mexico City, where the government already owns land.

This airport is the first of its kind in the world. It doesn’t have a conventional roof. It doesn’t have vertical walls. It doesn’t have columns in the normal sense.

Norman Foster, British architect

Mexico’s government will finance the first stage of the new airport and aims to issue up to 30-year bonds to finance later stages, a senior project official said. Federico Patino, financial director of the project, said it would be financed through 2016 using money from the government’s budget and two loans totaling up to $3 billion, and backed by earnings from the current airport. The government hopes to boost capacity to 120 million passengers a year within 50 years.

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