Studies

The following organizations were in charge of the feasibility studies that resulted in the selection of the Texcoco site:[7]​.

• - Arup: Master plan, geotechnics and seismic design.

• - MITER: Airworthiness, airspace, meteorological and noise studies.

• - International Civil Aviation Organization and International Air Transport Association: Validation and suitability of the Texcoco site.[8]​.

From its conception, the NAICM had a hydraulic project that anticipated flooding of nearby communities and partial restoration of the region's original environment. The airport's hydraulic project focused on the sanitation and rehabilitation of canals, as well as the construction of new treatment plants and regulation lagoons.[9]​.

Among the projected works were:[10]​.

• - Construction of five regulation lagoons and rehabilitation of existing lagoons, to increase their capacity from 13 million m³ of water, in 2014, to 45 million m³ of water, in 2020.[9]​.

• - Rectification of 83 km of channels to improve their water conduction capacity.[11]​.

• - Construction of 142 km of collectors in 9 rivers, 35 km of tunnels and piping of 7 km of channels, to separate rainwater and wastewater and reduce harmful odors in the area.[11]​.

• - Construction of 11 treatment plants and rehabilitation of nine more for wastewater sanitation.[11]​.

The airport would also have an aquifer recharge system to inject 3.37 times more water than consumed by the airport. The capacity of the aquifer recharge systems would be 6.4 million m³ of water per year, thereby avoiding flooding in Mexico City.[12]​.

According to the proposal, this would lead to Lake Nabor Carrillo not drying up and continuing to be a body of water throughout the year.[13]​ The water level of Lake Nabor Carrillo would remain at least 5.9 million m³ of water all year round.[14]​.

The area occupied by Mexico City is susceptible to subsidence caused by the overexploitation of aquifers to provide water to the population. Airports in the region are susceptible to collapse which, in the long term, generates maintenance problems on runways and facilities. These problems are more notable in the old airport, since it is located in the area with subsidence rates of 30 cm/year, while the NAICM would be located on land with subsidence rates close to 15 cm/year.[15] In the new airport project, differential settlements would be controlled in the passenger terminal building with the foundation slab that functions as a raft that at the same time is on more than 1,500 piles that operate by friction, This foundation was carried out by ARUP, as well as the tracks that, due to the preload system, avoid future settlements, avoiding AICM problems, thereby reducing the maintenance cost.[12]​.

The maintenance cost per runway over a period of 5 years for the new airport is estimated at a maximum of 350 million Mexican pesos for 5 years, while the annual maintenance cost per runway for the old airport is 460 million.[16]​.

Selection competition

In November 2013, the federal government invited architectural firms to submit proposals for the design of the NAICM.[17] The following consortia submitted proposals:.

The winning proposal was selected based on criteria such as functionality and efficiency, sustainability, technical, financial and work plan feasibility, flexibility for future growth and technological innovation, among others.[17]​ The jury included public officials and directors of national and international civil organizations.

Design

The terminal building was designed by a collaboration between Foster and Partners, FR-EE") and Netherlands Airport Consultants") with structural engineering by Arup. The design contemplates an area of ​​743,000 square meters on four interior levels, and is composed of a light gridshell structure (a structure that owes its resistance to its double curvature). By not using internal trains or pedestrian tunnels, the interior design of the terminal was designed so that passengers would not have to walk long distances or change levels many times.

With a higher column spacing of up to 140 m, the terminal building would have more flexible and efficient interior spaces. Its lightweight steel and glass structure was designed for the soil conditions of Mexico City and, due to the use of a system of prefabricated components, could be built quickly and without requiring massive scaffolding systems.

The terminal is designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification taking advantage of Mexico City's temperate, low-humidity climate. Most of the year, comfortable temperatures will be maintained inside the terminal building using almost exclusively external air with minimal use of additional cooling or heating equipment. Likewise, the roof of the building will collect rainwater captured by the 21 phoniles that will be used for airport operations and takes advantage of sunlight to reduce the energy consumed to illuminate the building.[18]​.

Characteristics and comparison with the old airport

The New Airport was being built on 4,430 hectares (44.3 km²), within land owned by the federal government, 5 km northeast of Mexico City International Airport. The site is located within the municipalities of Texcoco and Atenco, in the state of Mexico.

The Mexico City International Airport has a design capacity of 34 million passengers and 420 thousand annual operations; However, in 2017 44.7 million passengers passed through it (30 percent above its design capacity). The old airport is made up of:.

• - two terminals, with 56 contact doors plus 35 remote positions;

• - two 35 m high control towers;

• - a cargo terminal, with a capacity of 500 thousand tons per year;.

• - two runways with a length of 3.9 km, which do not allow simultaneous landings or takeoffs;.

• - airspace compromised by the existence of the Ajusco, Guadalupe "Sierra de Guadalupe (Mexico)" and Las Cruces mountain ranges.

In its first stage (2022), the airport will have a capacity of 70 million passengers and 540,500 operations (landings or takeoffs) annually, as it will be composed of:.

• - 1 terminal of 743,000 m², with 96 contact doors plus 68 remote positions;.

• - 1 control tower 90 m high;

• - 1 cargo terminal with capacity for 2 million tons per year;

• - 3 runways with lengths of 4 to 5 km that allow 3 simultaneous takeoffs or landings;

• - airspace free of interference.

In its final stage (2024+), the airport will have a capacity of 135 million passengers and 1 million annual operations, through the eventual construction of:.

• - 2 terminals and 2 satellite terminals;.

• - 6 runways that allow 3 takeoffs and 3 simultaneous landings.

Airspace

Mexico City is surrounded by four natural elevations: to the west, by the Sierra de las Cruces; to the north, by the Sierra de Guadalupe "Sierra de Guadalupe (Mexico)"); to the south, by the Ajusco mountain range, and to the east, by the Neovolcanic Axis (which includes the Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl and Mount Tláloc volcanoes). The existence of these mountain ranges forces there to be only one approach route to runways 05R and 05L of the old airport, which, combined with the separation of just 250 m between such runways, limits the capacity of the AICM to only 58 operations per hour (number of landings and takeoffs per hour). In contrast, the new airport site has an airspace capacity of 142 operations per hour, with a configuration of three runways with triple operation simultaneous.[7]​.

The site where the new airport is being built has been certified with availability factors"), due to crosswinds of between 96.3% and 99% with visual flight rules,[7]​ which exceeds the ICAO requirement of an availability factor of 95%. To allow operations in situations of limited visibility, the new airport will have a category IIIb instrument landing system (ILS). It is worth mentioning that the old airport could not be equipped with this system, due to the impossibility of building a approach lighting system, due to the proximity of its runways to residential areas, which forces operations at the old airport to be suspended when fog occurs.

The lower air density due to Mexico City's altitude means that the new airport's runways are approximately 40% longer than those of comparable airports at sea level. With a length of 5 km, runways 2 (35R/17L) and 3 (36L/18R) of the new airport will be the longest commercial runways on the American continent and the longest in the world at an international airport.

Interference with birds

The runways of the new airport are 3 km (3 km) from Lake Nabor Carrillo"), so it does not comply with international recommendations (FAA 150/5200-33B[19]​) since 5 miles (8 km) is recommended to minimize the risk of birds crossing the approach and takeoff regions.[7]​.

The first study regarding bird interference at an airport in Texcoco was carried out from 1996 to 2002 by scientists from UNAM, FAA and USDA,[20] and concluded that it is feasible to build an airport north of the Peñón-Texcoco highway, meeting the separation criteria between the runways and Lake Nabor Carrillo. This study and others from the University Environmental Program (PUMA) continued until 2005.

The studies were resumed in 2013 by groups of specialists from the College of Biologists of Mexico, UNAM and IPN, who recommended strategies for bird conservation, which the Mexico City Airport Group committed to carrying out as part of the environmental impact statement. Among these strategies are conservation actions and habitat restoration in the lakes or dams of Zumpango, Tláhuac, Xochimilco, Nabor Carrillo, Guadalupe, Cuevecillas, Tecocomulco, Requena, El Manantial, Piedad, Taxhimay, Carretas, Concepción, Espejo, Madín, Cristo and Aragón.

Independent studies regarding environmental impacts indicate that Lake Nabor Carrillo is one of the main recipients of migratory birds in the center of the country, since in February 2018 the arrival of more than 330 thousand birds was recorded, where 94% are from the duck family, a highly dangerous bird for aviation.[22]​.

Financing

The NAICM is structured to be a self-financing project, obtaining resources for its construction with a combination of government and private funds, maintaining the airport as a property of the federal government but minimizing its impact on public finances.[23]​.

The private financing of the NAICM has been obtained through the issuance of bonds guaranteed by the income obtained by the Airport Use Fee (TUA). The first stage (2016) of financing consisted of obtaining revolving credit lines) for 3 billion dollars. The second stage (2017) consisted of the issuance of 10 and 30-year bonds for 6 billion dollars and the cancellation of the financing obtained in the first stage, due to the lower interest rates paid for the bonds of the second stage. The third stage (2018) of financing consisted of Infrastructure and Real Estate Trusts (FIBRA), which obtained 30 billion pesos from institutional investors. The financial flows of the NAICM are structured in such a way that the remnants of the airport will generate profits for the federal government in excess of one billion dollars annually in the 2030s.

In August 2018, financing had been obtained for 70 percent of the work, guaranteeing the necessary resources to cover the needs of the project during 2018, 2019 and the first half of 2020 without requiring additional public or private funds.[24]​.

When announced in 2014, an opening date was estimated for October 2021 and a construction cost of 13.3 billion US dollars (168.88 billion Mexican pesos). However, the schedule[25]​ and the financial plan") updated in 2018 mark an opening date of mid-2021 and a cost of 14.3 billion US dollars (285 billion Mexican pesos). These differences have been attributed to increases in costs, due to the devaluation of the Mexican peso and the rethinking of the master plan so that the airport can meet greater demand in its first phase.[24]​.

Construction

Work on the new airport began in September 2015, with ground preparation work that included massive soil improvement works to control site subsidence.

As of January 22, 2019, the driving of foundation piles for the Control Tower, the Terminal Building and the Land Transportation Center, the construction of the perimeter fence of the industrial estate and the perimeter road, the internal temporary roads, the temporary storm drainage, the construction site, the cleaning and leveling of the land) have been completed. Runways 2 (35R/17L) and 3 (36L/18R) are 60 percent complete and 100% of the foundation slabs of the Terminal Building have been poured.

In the Terminal Building, the 21 phonile bases have been manufactured, of which 15 are assembled and the other 6 due to construction processes have not been assembled, as well as the manufacturing of the 21 phoniles is 100% in different stages of assembly, such as the metal structure and the internal façade of the control tower are also expected to be completed in 2018.[26]​.

Parsons Corporation"), the project supervisor, estimates that runways 2 (35R/17L) and 3 (36L/18R) will be completed by the end of 2018, and runway 6 (01R/19L) in 2019.[27]​.

For the construction and planning of the airport, contracts were signed for 155,732 million Mexican pesos,[28]​ divided into:.

The following table lists some of the main tenders that have been issued for the construction of the NAICM.

Studies

The following organizations were in charge of the feasibility studies that resulted in the selection of the Texcoco site:[7]​.

• - Arup: Master plan, geotechnics and seismic design.

• - MITER: Airworthiness, airspace, meteorological and noise studies.

• - International Civil Aviation Organization and International Air Transport Association: Validation and suitability of the Texcoco site.[8]​.

From its conception, the NAICM had a hydraulic project that anticipated flooding of nearby communities and partial restoration of the region's original environment. The airport's hydraulic project focused on the sanitation and rehabilitation of canals, as well as the construction of new treatment plants and regulation lagoons.[9]​.

Among the projected works were:[10]​.

• - Construction of five regulation lagoons and rehabilitation of existing lagoons, to increase their capacity from 13 million m³ of water, in 2014, to 45 million m³ of water, in 2020.[9]​.

• - Rectification of 83 km of channels to improve their water conduction capacity.[11]​.

• - Construction of 142 km of collectors in 9 rivers, 35 km of tunnels and piping of 7 km of channels, to separate rainwater and wastewater and reduce harmful odors in the area.[11]​.

• - Construction of 11 treatment plants and rehabilitation of nine more for wastewater sanitation.[11]​.

The airport would also have an aquifer recharge system to inject 3.37 times more water than consumed by the airport. The capacity of the aquifer recharge systems would be 6.4 million m³ of water per year, thereby avoiding flooding in Mexico City.[12]​.

According to the proposal, this would lead to Lake Nabor Carrillo not drying up and continuing to be a body of water throughout the year.[13]​ The water level of Lake Nabor Carrillo would remain at least 5.9 million m³ of water all year round.[14]​.

The area occupied by Mexico City is susceptible to subsidence caused by the overexploitation of aquifers to provide water to the population. Airports in the region are susceptible to collapse which, in the long term, generates maintenance problems on runways and facilities. These problems are more notable in the old airport, since it is located in the area with subsidence rates of 30 cm/year, while the NAICM would be located on land with subsidence rates close to 15 cm/year.[15] In the new airport project, differential settlements would be controlled in the passenger terminal building with the foundation slab that functions as a raft that at the same time is on more than 1,500 piles that operate by friction, This foundation was carried out by ARUP, as well as the tracks that, due to the preload system, avoid future settlements, avoiding AICM problems, thereby reducing the maintenance cost.[12]​.

The maintenance cost per runway over a period of 5 years for the new airport is estimated at a maximum of 350 million Mexican pesos for 5 years, while the annual maintenance cost per runway for the old airport is 460 million.[16]​.

Selection competition

In November 2013, the federal government invited architectural firms to submit proposals for the design of the NAICM.[17] The following consortia submitted proposals:.

The winning proposal was selected based on criteria such as functionality and efficiency, sustainability, technical, financial and work plan feasibility, flexibility for future growth and technological innovation, among others.[17]​ The jury included public officials and directors of national and international civil organizations.

Design

The terminal building was designed by a collaboration between Foster and Partners, FR-EE") and Netherlands Airport Consultants") with structural engineering by Arup. The design contemplates an area of ​​743,000 square meters on four interior levels, and is composed of a light gridshell structure (a structure that owes its resistance to its double curvature). By not using internal trains or pedestrian tunnels, the interior design of the terminal was designed so that passengers would not have to walk long distances or change levels many times.

With a higher column spacing of up to 140 m, the terminal building would have more flexible and efficient interior spaces. Its lightweight steel and glass structure was designed for the soil conditions of Mexico City and, due to the use of a system of prefabricated components, could be built quickly and without requiring massive scaffolding systems.

The terminal is designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification taking advantage of Mexico City's temperate, low-humidity climate. Most of the year, comfortable temperatures will be maintained inside the terminal building using almost exclusively external air with minimal use of additional cooling or heating equipment. Likewise, the roof of the building will collect rainwater captured by the 21 phoniles that will be used for airport operations and takes advantage of sunlight to reduce the energy consumed to illuminate the building.[18]​.

Characteristics and comparison with the old airport

The New Airport was being built on 4,430 hectares (44.3 km²), within land owned by the federal government, 5 km northeast of Mexico City International Airport. The site is located within the municipalities of Texcoco and Atenco, in the state of Mexico.

The Mexico City International Airport has a design capacity of 34 million passengers and 420 thousand annual operations; However, in 2017 44.7 million passengers passed through it (30 percent above its design capacity). The old airport is made up of:.

• - two terminals, with 56 contact doors plus 35 remote positions;

• - two 35 m high control towers;

• - a cargo terminal, with a capacity of 500 thousand tons per year;.

• - two runways with a length of 3.9 km, which do not allow simultaneous landings or takeoffs;.

• - airspace compromised by the existence of the Ajusco, Guadalupe "Sierra de Guadalupe (Mexico)" and Las Cruces mountain ranges.

In its first stage (2022), the airport will have a capacity of 70 million passengers and 540,500 operations (landings or takeoffs) annually, as it will be composed of:.

• - 1 terminal of 743,000 m², with 96 contact doors plus 68 remote positions;.

• - 1 control tower 90 m high;

• - 1 cargo terminal with capacity for 2 million tons per year;

• - 3 runways with lengths of 4 to 5 km that allow 3 simultaneous takeoffs or landings;

• - airspace free of interference.

In its final stage (2024+), the airport will have a capacity of 135 million passengers and 1 million annual operations, through the eventual construction of:.

• - 2 terminals and 2 satellite terminals;.

• - 6 runways that allow 3 takeoffs and 3 simultaneous landings.

Airspace

Mexico City is surrounded by four natural elevations: to the west, by the Sierra de las Cruces; to the north, by the Sierra de Guadalupe "Sierra de Guadalupe (Mexico)"); to the south, by the Ajusco mountain range, and to the east, by the Neovolcanic Axis (which includes the Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl and Mount Tláloc volcanoes). The existence of these mountain ranges forces there to be only one approach route to runways 05R and 05L of the old airport, which, combined with the separation of just 250 m between such runways, limits the capacity of the AICM to only 58 operations per hour (number of landings and takeoffs per hour). In contrast, the new airport site has an airspace capacity of 142 operations per hour, with a configuration of three runways with triple operation simultaneous.[7]​.

The site where the new airport is being built has been certified with availability factors"), due to crosswinds of between 96.3% and 99% with visual flight rules,[7]​ which exceeds the ICAO requirement of an availability factor of 95%. To allow operations in situations of limited visibility, the new airport will have a category IIIb instrument landing system (ILS). It is worth mentioning that the old airport could not be equipped with this system, due to the impossibility of building a approach lighting system, due to the proximity of its runways to residential areas, which forces operations at the old airport to be suspended when fog occurs.

The lower air density due to Mexico City's altitude means that the new airport's runways are approximately 40% longer than those of comparable airports at sea level. With a length of 5 km, runways 2 (35R/17L) and 3 (36L/18R) of the new airport will be the longest commercial runways on the American continent and the longest in the world at an international airport.

Interference with birds

The runways of the new airport are 3 km (3 km) from Lake Nabor Carrillo"), so it does not comply with international recommendations (FAA 150/5200-33B[19]​) since 5 miles (8 km) is recommended to minimize the risk of birds crossing the approach and takeoff regions.[7]​.

The first study regarding bird interference at an airport in Texcoco was carried out from 1996 to 2002 by scientists from UNAM, FAA and USDA,[20] and concluded that it is feasible to build an airport north of the Peñón-Texcoco highway, meeting the separation criteria between the runways and Lake Nabor Carrillo. This study and others from the University Environmental Program (PUMA) continued until 2005.

The studies were resumed in 2013 by groups of specialists from the College of Biologists of Mexico, UNAM and IPN, who recommended strategies for bird conservation, which the Mexico City Airport Group committed to carrying out as part of the environmental impact statement. Among these strategies are conservation actions and habitat restoration in the lakes or dams of Zumpango, Tláhuac, Xochimilco, Nabor Carrillo, Guadalupe, Cuevecillas, Tecocomulco, Requena, El Manantial, Piedad, Taxhimay, Carretas, Concepción, Espejo, Madín, Cristo and Aragón.

Independent studies regarding environmental impacts indicate that Lake Nabor Carrillo is one of the main recipients of migratory birds in the center of the country, since in February 2018 the arrival of more than 330 thousand birds was recorded, where 94% are from the duck family, a highly dangerous bird for aviation.[22]​.

Financing

The NAICM is structured to be a self-financing project, obtaining resources for its construction with a combination of government and private funds, maintaining the airport as a property of the federal government but minimizing its impact on public finances.[23]​.

The private financing of the NAICM has been obtained through the issuance of bonds guaranteed by the income obtained by the Airport Use Fee (TUA). The first stage (2016) of financing consisted of obtaining revolving credit lines) for 3 billion dollars. The second stage (2017) consisted of the issuance of 10 and 30-year bonds for 6 billion dollars and the cancellation of the financing obtained in the first stage, due to the lower interest rates paid for the bonds of the second stage. The third stage (2018) of financing consisted of Infrastructure and Real Estate Trusts (FIBRA), which obtained 30 billion pesos from institutional investors. The financial flows of the NAICM are structured in such a way that the remnants of the airport will generate profits for the federal government in excess of one billion dollars annually in the 2030s.

In August 2018, financing had been obtained for 70 percent of the work, guaranteeing the necessary resources to cover the needs of the project during 2018, 2019 and the first half of 2020 without requiring additional public or private funds.[24]​.

When announced in 2014, an opening date was estimated for October 2021 and a construction cost of 13.3 billion US dollars (168.88 billion Mexican pesos). However, the schedule[25]​ and the financial plan") updated in 2018 mark an opening date of mid-2021 and a cost of 14.3 billion US dollars (285 billion Mexican pesos). These differences have been attributed to increases in costs, due to the devaluation of the Mexican peso and the rethinking of the master plan so that the airport can meet greater demand in its first phase.[24]​.

Construction

Work on the new airport began in September 2015, with ground preparation work that included massive soil improvement works to control site subsidence.

As of January 22, 2019, the driving of foundation piles for the Control Tower, the Terminal Building and the Land Transportation Center, the construction of the perimeter fence of the industrial estate and the perimeter road, the internal temporary roads, the temporary storm drainage, the construction site, the cleaning and leveling of the land) have been completed. Runways 2 (35R/17L) and 3 (36L/18R) are 60 percent complete and 100% of the foundation slabs of the Terminal Building have been poured.

In the Terminal Building, the 21 phonile bases have been manufactured, of which 15 are assembled and the other 6 due to construction processes have not been assembled, as well as the manufacturing of the 21 phoniles is 100% in different stages of assembly, such as the metal structure and the internal façade of the control tower are also expected to be completed in 2018.[26]​.

Parsons Corporation"), the project supervisor, estimates that runways 2 (35R/17L) and 3 (36L/18R) will be completed by the end of 2018, and runway 6 (01R/19L) in 2019.[27]​.

For the construction and planning of the airport, contracts were signed for 155,732 million Mexican pesos,[28]​ divided into:.

The following table lists some of the main tenders that have been issued for the construction of the NAICM.