British Indian hotelier Surinder Arora in race to expand Heathrow Airport

One of Britain’s leading Indian-origin hoteliers, Surinder Arora, on Thursday revealed plans to join the race to expand Heathrow Airport with a cost-efficient solution that offers a fully operational third runway by 2035.

The Arora Group, behind some of the UK’s prominent hotels and luxury resorts, said its “Heathrow West” proposal to the UK government has been developed alongside American civil engineers Bechtel, who have a track record of delivering airport projects globally.

The company said the full proposal for the expansion of the UK’s only hub airport submitted to the Department of Transport delivers on the government’s ambition to unlock economic growth and offer consumers greater choice, with significantly improved levels of efficiency, service and resilience for airlines and passengers.

“After a decade working with our world leading design and delivery team, I am very proud that the Arora Group can finally unveil to the UK government our Heathrow West proposal, which directly meets and supports the United Kingdom’s primary objective of unlocking economic growth at the UK’s only hub airport, with a strong commitment of doing so on-budget and on-time,” said Arora.

“We are delighted that the government has taken a common-sense approach to invite proposals from all interested parties for the very first time rather than granting exclusivity to the current airport operator, no matter its track record. I want the UK to succeed... Our project will generate employment and skills training opportunities across every region of the UK.”

The billionaire tycoon claimed that his plans incorporate simpler and less disruptive construction, enabling earlier delivery of new terminal capacity and avoiding the major disruption of building over the M25 highway.

“Heathrow West will have a board that comprises members with proven track records in governance, finance, construction, aviation and sustainability. Furthermore, Heathrow West will be committed to working with airlines to adapt its design to ensure it provides value for money and operational resilience while promoting technological innovation,” said Carlton Brown, CEO of Heathrow West.

“Ultimately, I want to see Heathrow help Britain become the best-connected nation in the world and facilitate the trade and inward investment our UK economy needs in order to compete with the rest of the world. There is no reason as to why the UK’s only hub cannot outcompete not just its European rivals, but also Dubai, Singapore and others.”

The company said building a shorter 2,800-metre third runway, instead of the full-length 3,500-metre runway planned by the airport, would result in “reduced risk” and avoid “spiralling cost”.

With a shorter runway, efficient construction programme, fewer dependencies and a clear path to site mobilisation, the evidence provided in the submission strongly suggests that this scheme, and the new runway in particular, can be delivered in the target time frame of 10 years while offering a more acceptable and cost-effective solution, the property and retail group said.

The plan by the British Indian hotel magnate includes building a new terminal, which would open in two phases in 2036 and 2040.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is set to review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision-making on the Heathrow expansion, the government’s agenda to meet the ever-increasing air traffic demands at Britain’s largest international airport.