Airport of the Pacific

The Airport of the Pacific (Spanish: Aeropuerto del Pacífico)[2] is a planned joint-use civilian international airport and military base which will be located in Conchagua, El Salvador, and will serve the city of La Unión. The airport was proposed by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele during his 2019 presidential campaign as a part of his "Plan Cuscatlán" and construction was approved by the Legislative Assembly on 26 April 2022. Terraforming began in March 2023.

"Aeropuerto del Pacífico" redirects here. Not to be confused with Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico.

Airport of the Pacific

Aeropuerto del Pacífico
Summary
Airport typePublic/military[1]
OwnerGovernment of El Salvador
OperatorAutonomous Port Executive Commission (CEPA)
ServesLa Unión, El Salvador
LocationConchagua, El Salvador
Opened2033 (estimated)
Built2023–present
Time zoneCST (UTC–6)
Coordinates13°18′N 87°52′W
WebsiteOfficial website
Map
Conchagua is located in El Salvador
Conchagua
Conchagua
Planned location in El Salvador

Planning

Initial proposals

In 2019, then Salvadoran presidential candidate Nayib Bukele published "Plan Cuscatlán," an outline of his objectives and goals for his term as president of El Salvador. Within "Plan Cuscatlán," he proposed the construction of a new airport in eastern El Salvador, then referred to it as the "Airport in the East" (Aeropuerto en el Oriente). Bukele cited that many of the passengers who pass through El Salvador's Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International Airport in south-central El Salvador live in eastern El Salvador, and that a new airport in the east would simultaneously ease congestion of El Salvador's main international airport and bring jobs and an economic boost to the east of the country.[3]

On 9 March 2020, the Salvadoran government began an international public offering, titled the "Pacific Airport Project," to foreign companies to study the design of the airport. In total, 44 companies in total showed interest in the project; of the 44 companies, 11 presented their economic models to the Salvadoran government.[4]

On 24 February 2022, the government was given an economic and financial report for the airport by Peyco-ALBEN 4000 Consortium, an air transportation company. The report estimated that the airport would create 4,700 new jobs in its first year of operation.[4] The plan also estimated that within its first 10 years of operation, the airport would accommodate between 1 and 3 million passengers and around 18,000 aircraft movements.[5] Federico Anliker, the president of the Autonomous Port Executive Commission (CEPA) also estimated that the airport's construction would create over 23,700 new jobs.[5] In March 2022, CEPA confirmed that the airport would be located in Conchagua, a municipality of the La Unión department just south of the city of La Unión.[6]

Government approval

On 25 April 2022, the Legislative Assembly's Economic Commission approved a law which would authorize the construction of the airport.[7] On 26 April 2022, the Legislative Assembly approved the law which the Economic Commission approved the day prior, officially authorizing the construction of the airport.[8] The law, titled the "Law for the Construction, Administration, Operation, and Maintenance of the Airport of the Pacific," was passed with 67 of the 84 votes in favor. According to the Legislative Assembly, nine locations were considered; six were eliminated due to the perceived difficulty which would face aircraft landings, and the Legislative Assembly settled on construction at the selected site to minimize its affect on the environment.[9]

Construction

In October 2022, 10 of the 150 landowners affected by the airport's construction stated that they would not sell their land to the government. CEPA stated that they will seek to come to a settlement with the landowners, and Federico Anliker, the president of CEPA, accused them of being "manipulated" by the country's opposition political parties to oppose the airport's construction.[10] In January 2023, Cristosal, a non-government organization, claimed that three laws regarding the airport's construction "open the door to corruption" and called upon the Supreme Court of Justice to block the laws.[11]

Terraforming for the airport began in March 2023.[12] The airport will be 126,530 square feet (11,755 m2) in size[8] and construction is estimated to cost USD$500 million over 10 years.[13]

The airport's construction is opposed by the Indigenous Movement for the Integration of the Struggles of the Ancestral Peoples of El Salvador (MILPA), which claims its construction violates the people's right to private property and degrades the area's environment.[12]

See also

References
  1. Pastrán, Rosa María (26 February 2022). "Aeropuerto del Pacífico Incluiría una Base Militar" [Airport of the Pacific will Include a Military Base]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  2. Bukele, Nayib [@nayibbukele] (26 April 2022). "Gracias a los diputados de la @AsambleaSV por la aprobación de la ley para la construcción del: ✅ Aeropuerto del Pacífico 🛫 ✅ Tren del Pacífico 🚆 Sacar adelante a nuestro país requiere de la ayuda de todos 🇸🇻" [Thank you to the deputies of the @AsambleaSV for the approval of the law for the construction of the: ✅ Airport of the Pacific 🛫 ✅ Train of the Pacific 🚆 Moving our country forward requires everyone's help 🇸🇻] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  3. Bukele, Nayib (2019). "Infraestructura | Plan Cuscatlán" [Infrastructure | Cuscatlán Plan] (PDF). plancuscatlan.com (in Spanish). p. 31. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  4. Galdámez, Eddie (24 February 2022). "The El Salvador Pacific Airport. Entering Final Preparation Stages". elsavladorinfo.net.
  5. Pineda, Jonathan (25 February 2022). "Aeropuerto del Pacífico Generará 23,722 Empleos en la Fase de Construcción" [Airport of the Pacific will Generate 23,722 Jobs in the Construction Phase]. Diario El Salvador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  6. Sandoval, André (14 March 2022). "¿Dónde Será Construido el Nuevo Aeropuerto del Pacífico?" [Where will the New Airport of the Pacific be Constructed?]. Teleprensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  7. "Comisión de Economía Aprueba Dictamen para la Construcción del Aeropuerto del Pacífico" [Economy Commission Approves Opinion for the Construction of the Pacific Airport]. Legislative Assembly of El Salvador (in Spanish). 25 April 2022. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  8. Magaña, Yolanda (26 April 2022). "Aprueban Leyes para Construir Tren y Aeropuerto del Pacífico" [They Approve Laws to Construct the Train and Airport of the Pacific]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  9. "Pleno Legislativo Autoriza al Ejecutivo la Construcción del Aeropuerto del Pacífico en La Unión" [Legislative Plenary Authorizes the Executive the Construction of the Pacific Airport in La Unión]. Legislative Assembly of El Salvador (in Spanish). 27 April 2022. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  10. Villeda, Jaqueline (18 October 2022). "CEPA Asegura Buscará Acuerdo con Propietarios de Tierras del Futuro Aeropuerto del Pacífico" [CEPA Ensures Will Seek Agreement with Owners of Lands of the Future Airport of the Pacific]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  11. Rodríguez, Milton (12 January 2023). "Cristosal Presenta Demanda Contra Leyes para Penal Centers, Tren y Aeropuerto del Pacífico Porque "Abren la Puerta a la Corrupción"" [Cristosal Presents Demand Against Laws for the Supreme Court, Train and Airport of the Pacific Because "They Open the Door to Corruption"]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  12. Mendoza, Insy (24 March 2023). "Empiezan a Perforar Terrenos para el Aeropuerto de La Unión, Pero Dueños Todavía no Reciben Pago del Gobierno" [Land Drilling Begins for La Unión Airport, But Owners Still Haven't Received Government Payment]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  13. "Gobierno del Presidente Nayib Bukele Conecta Proyectos Estratégicos con Inversionistas, Empresas y Países de Todo el Mundo" [Government of President Nayib Bukele Connects Strategic Projects with Investments, Companies, and Countries from Across the World]. Government of El Salvador (in Spanish). 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
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