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Any day now, transport minister Geoff Hoon is expected to pledge the government鈥檚 support for a 拢13bn expansion programme at Heathrow airport. This would involve, among other things, a 2.2km third runway, a 拢5bn airport terminal and related infrastructure to be built by 2020.

Prime minister Gordon Brown has already voiced his approval for the expansion of Britain鈥檚 largest airport, and BAA has been working furiously to ensure the proposals are proportional and as environmentally friendly as they can be to help ensure the go-ahead from parliament. Behind the scenes, it is considered a done deal. It is understood that BAA is so confident the expansion will be approved that tenders are ready and waiting to go out in January for environmental consultants and planners.

David Connolly, head of aviation at Davis Langdon, is sure expansion at Heathrow will be welcomed by the construction industry. He says: 鈥淚t would be a huge boost. BAA already has a capital spend of 拢4bn planned without the expansion, but a terminal, runway and infrastructure could be just as much work.鈥�

Architects would be the first to benefit from the approval of Heathrow鈥檚 expansion, with tenders likely to go out for feasibility and masterplanning studies early in the new year. Grimshaw, the masterplan architect for Stansted鈥檚 expansion, could be expected to tender for this, alongside aviation specialists such as Pascall + Watson and YRM.

Cost consultants and project management tenders would follow about six months later. EC Harris, Mace and Davis Langdon are among the firms likely to benefit. Contractors from BAA鈥檚 10-strong capital projects framework would look to bid for work on 鈥淩3鈥�, as the scheme has become known at BAA, in early 2010. Expect Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Laing O鈥橰ourke and, of course, Ferrovial to be high on tender shortlists.

Firms in the environmental sector, like RPS and Delta Simon, are also well placed to benefit. Connolly says: 鈥淎irports and airport operators are going to have to illustrate that they can meet environmental standards if this is going to get built, and they are going to go the extra mile to prove it.鈥�

The construction of airports attracts related industries, which need business parks and industrial space in which to operate. 鈥淚t will be of benefit to the local community, even though they are also the ones who suffer most from noise pollution and the like,鈥� says Connolly.

Whichever way you cut it, increased spending on infrastructure has to be good for construction. Expansion at Heathrow could reap 拢7bn of new business for BAA鈥檚 framework of contractors and consultants.

Even so, trouble is brewing. Environmental campaigners, local residents and the Conservative party have pledged to fight every step of the way to ensure Heathrow remains at its current capacity. Some in the Labour party are also opposed to the airport鈥檚 growth, which suggests the prime minister could face a contentious vote in parliament 鈥� and that鈥檚 before the inevitable public inquiry and protests.

The Tories have proposed various alternatives to R3. The official line is that a high-speed rail line would cut the number of domestic flights, making room for more international flight routes without expansion. A souped-up rail line from London to Leeds could bring in 拢10bn to the industry鈥檚 coffers, proponents of this idea claim 鈥� an even juicier cherry than the Heathrow plan.

And then, of course, there鈥檚 the option of a new location. London mayor Boris Johnson is quite serious about his 鈥渆co-airport鈥� in the Thames Gateway, having appointed industry heavyweight and Crossrail chair Doug Oakervee to conduct a feasibility study into the plan. And this plan, it is claimed, would bring in more work than either of the two other schemes.

Still, Hoon鈥檚 announcement is likely to kick other options into the long grass and at a time when there is precious little new work on many order books, the approval of Heathrow鈥檚 expansion will be welcome indeed.