Mexico City long ago outgrew the two-terminal Benito Juárez International Airport, which is notorious for delays, overcrowding and canceled flights.
Construction is now underway on a striking new international airport east of this metropolis of 20 million. When it opens in late 2020, the LEED-certified new airport "“ whose terminal building was designed by renowned British architect Norman Foster in collaboration with the well-known Mexican architect Fernando Romero "“ is expected to eventually serve 125 million passengers. That"™s more than Chicago O’Hare and Los Angele"™ LAX.
But after three years of construction and US$1.3 billion, costs are ballooning and corruption allegations have dogged both the funding and contracting process.
Environmentalists are also concerned. The new airport is located on a semi-dry lake bed that provides water for Mexico City and prevents flooding. It also hosts migrating flocks and is home to rare native species like the Mexican duck and Kentish plover.
According to the federal government"™s environmental impact assessment, 12 threatened species and 1 endangered species live in the area.
The airport project is now so divisive that Andres Manuel López Obrador, the populist front-runner in the country"™s 2018 presidential campaign, has suggested scrapping it entirely…
