mexico city airport: plans by foster + partners and FR-EE cancelled after public vote

mexico city’s new international airport will not be realized following a public referendum, pushed for by mexico’s president-elect andrés manuel lópez obrador. although construction work on the $13 billion project — designed by foster + partners and FR-EE (fernando romero enterprise) — had been underway since 2015, the president-elect had raised concerns about the airport’s maintenance costs, and argued that the project was tainted by corruption.

all images courtesy of foster + partners | FR-EE

according to reuters, roughly a million people, just 1% of mexico’s electorate, participated in the referendum with almost 70% voting against the new airport. although the vote was non-binding, lopez obrador has pledged to respect the result.

a team comprising foster + partners, FR-EE (fernando romero enterprise), and NACO (netherlands airport consultants) first won an international competition to complete the airport in 2014. the plans involved the creation of one of the world’s largest airports with up to six runways and a 560,000-square-meter terminal.

the airport would’ve been one of the world’s largest

although the project had been underway east of the city center, voters were asked if the next government should finish the project (which would replace the existing airport), or, alternatively expand a military air base around 50 km (30 miles) north of the capital and keep the current airport. at the time of writing there has been no official comment from either foster + partners or FR-EE.

mexico’s president-elect had raised concerns about the airport’s maintenance costs

proposals by a variety of firms were unveiled in june 2014, including designs by JAHN, LOGUER, and ADG and sordo madaleno arquitectos, who teamed up with pascall+watson.

the airport had been under construction since 2015
image courtesy of nuevo aeropuerto MX