Plans for a four-runway airport to replace Heathrow in the Thames estuary using power harnessed from tidal energy have been drawn up by Lord Foster, the leading architect behind London’s iconic ‘Gherkin’ skyscraper.
The cost of the London hub plan is estimated at between £40 billion-£50 billion with design work involving Halcrow, the firm that provided planning and engineering services for Abu Dhabi, Toronto and Athens airports.
A three-mile tidal barrage would be created made up of 1,000 submerged generators producing enough electricity to power the airport and 120,000 homes.
Lord Foster’s firm Foster and Partners is also behind the design of Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport, which was created on reclaimed land.
Lord Foster told The Sunday Times: “This move would greatly improve the quality of life for Londoners by reducing pollution and improving security. It would also allow London to compete with the rapidly expanding airports in Europe and the Middle East.”
Emirates president Tim Clark reportedly said a large part of the funding could come from selling land currently used by capacity constrained Heathrow which operates with two runways.