Brussels Airport has an ambitious plan to get ready to accommodate the expected growth in air traffic in the next 25 years. The plan connects our country to the rest of the world and to the future, and has the potential to double the number of jobs on and around the airport site to 120,000 by 2040. The airport operator intends to further develop Brussels Airport in an open and transparent way, in dialogue with all stakeholders concerned and with consideration for its impact on the environment and its surroundings. That is why Brussels Airport has created Forum 2040, in which all stakeholders are represented: neighbours, municipalities, civil society organisations, companies and experts.
The presence of an international airport which is connected to all corners of the globe is a key factor in the development of any country. Given the rising world population and the ongoing globalisation of the economy, people and goods will increasingly be travelling by air. Over the next 20 years, passenger traffic is to increase by 3.8 % per year and cargo traffic by 4.7 % per year at global level. Numerous foreign airports, including in Belgium’s neighbouring countries, have announced major strategic investments to meet this expected market increase.
The Strategic Vision 2040 put forward by Brussels Airport starts from a balanced approach and takes into consideration the immediate and wider surroundings of the airport. “We are confident that it is feasible to increase the airport’s capacity to meet the growing market demand and, in doing so, ensure Belgium’s competitive position and connectivity, while at the same time taking account of the impact of this growth on local residents and the environment. The Forum 2040 which we are launching is the ideal platform to exchange ideas about this and find solutions”, Brussels Airport Company CEO Arnaud Feist stresses.
By setting up Forum 2040, Brussels Airport is looking to initiate transparent and structured dialogue with a group of airport users, local residents, the municipal authorities, civil society organisations, businesses and experts alike. From today, candidates can sign up to sit on the forum through the website www.brusselsairport2040.be. An independent jury will select around sixty participants based on their registered address or their expertise so as to make sure that all stakeholder groups are equally represented. The meetings of the Forum 2040, the first of which is to be held in late January 2017, will be presided over by an independent chairperson who will be appointed in early December.
In order to share its vision as transparently and as openly as possible with its environment, Brussels Airport is aiming at an open communication and constructive dialogue with the public at large. The launch of the Strategic Vision 2040 goes hand in hand with the launch of a dedicated website www.brusselsairport2040.be, a dedicated Facebook page and a magazine entitled “connect” to be distributed at 500,000 copies. The airport encourages everyone to put forward their questions through the various communication channels that are in place.
Improved infrastructure
In order to drive forward the airport’s activities, and in doing so, to uphold the connectivity and the economic growth of our country, the infrastructure of Brussels Airport will need to be adapted. This is planned from 2025 forward, after a first optimisation phase of the existing infrastructure by 2020.
An intermodal hub for the region
In the area of public transport, Brussels Airport has actively been working to enhance accessibility to the airport for many years, in association with national railway operator NMBS/SNCB and regional public transport companies De Lijn and MIVB/STIB. In the future, the airport will be a key player as intermodal hub which will benefit the entire region. As such, more trains, more buses and a new link with the regional tram network are now firmly on the agenda. By 2040, the aim is to see 50% of all passengers and airport staff travel into Brussels Airport by public transport or by bike. The concentration of all these transport modes at a strategic location will enable Brussels Airport to contribute to more fluent traffic flows around Brussels and in the Brussels Periphery.
A business centre to attract new businesses
By 2040, Brussels Airport is looking to establish a prestigious state-of-the-art business centre to accommodate even more companies keen to set up office close to the airport. Today, leading companies of world renown such as Deloitte, KPMG and Microsoft have already decided to occupy premises at Brussels Airport, attracted by the mobility and connectivity benefits. Over the years ahead, this trend will only continue to gather momentum, as seen at other airports around the world.
For further details: www.brusselsairport2040.be
17 November 2016
Photos: copyright © Brussels Airport
Discussion in our forum: http://www.luchtzak.be/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=44513&start=760#p342622
This post was published on 17 November 2016 17:49
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