Three new aircraft positions at Madrid-Barajas are at the centre of the airport’s first major expansion tenders. Aena has received competing offers for two projects at terminals T4 and T4S, worth more than €146 million combined. The work forms part of a wider plan to lift the airport’s capacity from nearly 70 million to 90 million passengers a year, backed by investment exceeding €4 billion over the coming years.
The largest contract covers the North Platform of T4. Valued at €89.97 million, it is scheduled to run for 35 months and has attracted Acciona Construcción, Obrascon Huarte Lain, Sacyr Construcciones and Vías y Construcciones.
The Spanish government approved DORA III on 15 September 2026. Madrid-Barajas accounts for €4.477 billion of the €13 billion investment programme for 2027 to 2031, the largest allocation in Aena’s airport network. The plan assigns €1.765 billion to Barcelona-El Prat, leaving Barajas as the programme’s basic beneficiary.
Ferrovial Construcción is bidding with Padecasa Obras y Servicios. Other proposals come from an alliance of Matias Arrom Bibiloni, Sampol Ingeniería y Obra and Coexa, and a consortium comprising Compañía General de Construcción Abaldo, BIC Restauración y conservación, Infra Conel and Llorente Electricidad.
The project goes beyond aircraft parking. It includes new remote stands, wider taxiways and utility ducts leading to the complex’s new electrical substation, along with urbanisation roads, conduits and galleries. The Plant Separadora de Hidrocarburos (PSH) and the Pabellón de Estado car park will also be relocated. Aena has split the work into five phases to keep it compatible with airport operations.
That constraint will shape the construction schedule: the airport must expand while aircraft and passengers continue to move through the site. Expansión and Europa Press describe the tenders as the first major construction packages launched at Barajas in the new investment cycle. Market interest has drawn roughly seven or eight potential consortiums to the initial works.
The second tender covers the South Pier of T4S. It is worth €56.5 million and has a 24-month execution period. Acciona Construcción, Obrascon Huarte Lain, Sacyr Construcciones and Vías y Construcciones are competing again, joined by Eiffage Infraestructuras and Elecnor Servicios y Proyectos.
Two more alliances have submitted proposals for the T4S project. One brings together Matias Arrom Bibiloni, Sampol Ingeniería y Obra and Avintia Proyectos y Construcciones. The other combines Compañía General de Construcción Abaldo with Gestión y Ejecución Obra Civil.
Aena’s Diseño Funcional para la Ampliación de las Terminales T4-T4S y zonas asociadas identifies a need for greater capacity for non-Schengen traffic. The plan extends the T4S pier and processor northwards within the existing architectural configuration, while also altering the boarding area on the southern side. The South Pier would be lengthened by 36 metres, creating three new contact positions with boarding bridges and expanding the boarding area on level P10.
The changes are intended to let more aircraft use contact positions while preserving the terminal’s architectural integrity. Aena also cites improvements to passenger experience and operational efficiency, though both projects remain at the tender stage. The wider DORA III programme includes an expanded T4, a new control annex, changes to the T1-T3 terminal complex and preparation for future rail connections.
The scale of the programme puts these contracts at the forefront of Aena’s broader airport strategy. The company’s infrastructure decisions have also appeared alongside other public-pressure stories covered in earlier reporting. The Barajas tenders, by contrast, focus on capacity, construction sequencing and airside coordination.
The government’s approval of DORA III sets the investment and airport-charge structure through 2031. Reports on the government decision and Aena’s plan say the programme will be financed through Aena’s own resources, rather than Spain’s state budget. The structure also allows an annual airport-fee increase of 0.33%.
The T4 platform contract carries the greater financial weight, while the T4S extension would directly add three contact positions for non-Schengen traffic. Together, the tenders turn Aena’s expansion roadmap into active procurement projects, though construction has yet to begin. The planned capacity increase depends first on the procurement results, then on 35 months of phased work at T4 and 24 months at T4S.
