Bankers being hired for £3m to tell Government if economic case for Heathrow third runway stacks up

Bankers are being recruited by the Government for at least £3 million to advise on the strength of the economic case for a third runway at Heathrow.

Chancellor John Healey has strongly backed a third runway

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He stressed last month: “We have given the go-ahead to this project quite simply because the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth.”

But the DfT, in its tender explains that “expansion presents significant financing, affordability, delivery and regulatory challenges”.

Heathrow and Sir Keir Starmer’s government argued that a new runway could boost the economy by tens of billions of pounds.

But critics say their sums are flawed and in fact the economic benefit would be limited, while there would be more pollution, more noise for local communities and it would be a blow to meeting the UK’s legally-binding climate change targets.

Chancellor John Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham seem at odds over expanding Heathrow

It its tender, the DfT is seeking advice on:

* The financeability and financial deliverability of Heathrow expansion

* Affordability, risk allocation and investor confidence

* Measures to improve financeability and reduce delivery risk

* Government exposure to programme costs and risks

* Debt and equity market appetite and financing conditions

* Delivery structures, governance arrangements and commercial models

* Emerging financing, commercial and regulatory issues

A plane comes into land at Heathrow airport over nearby housing

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The contract for the new banking adviser, who will be required to deliver a strategic financeability assessment every six months, is for three years at a cost of around £3 milion, with an option to extend the work for one more year.

Twickenham MP Munira Wilson said: “It beggars belief that Government is only now investigating whether taxpayers' money is at risk thanks to its support for Heathrow expansion.”

The development, which is already estimated to cost £49 billion with terminal and other improvements, is believed to have been hit with years of delays.

A DfT spokesperson said: "We are procuring an expert financial adviser to support the Government in moving forward with a framework for Heathrow expansion that delivers a third runway affordably.”