king and queen of Spain attended the opening ceremony of a new, third terminal called "Pablo Ruiz Picasso" at Málaga airport

king and queen of Spain attended the opening ceremony of a new, third terminal called "Pablo Ruiz Picasso" at Málaga airport last Monday.  This, in the words of the city’s mayor, is expected to “take the airport closer to being a national and international reference point.” Málaga is one of Spain’s most popular destinations for tourists, giving access to the beaches of the southern Costa del Sol coastline.
In his speech, the King emphasized the importance of the building of this infrastructure, which "extends beyond the region and should fill us with pride.”   His Majesty went on to say, "This hard work has resulted in the projected image of Spain as a modern and dynamic country, endowed with an efficient transport network.”
Juan Carlos had some kind words for the citizens of the Autonomous Communities of Andalusia, Canary Islands and Catalonia affected by storms. The King regretted the harm suffered, not only in housing and infrastructure but also in the various productive sectors, and wished his greatest sympathy and support to the victims.
The new terminal T-3, designed by architect Bruce S. Fairbanks, with an area of 250,000 square meters, is connected to the current area, generating a total area of 385,000 square meters. It will have the capacity to serve 9,000 passengers per hour, over 180 check-in desks and 48 gate airbridges -26 of which will be able to handle baggage at one time, to serve 30 million passengers per year. ACCIONA Infrastructure built the car park, provisional accesses and the bus station, at an investment of 102,8 million euros.
Through a transport interchange, passengers will have access to buses, taxis, rental cars and the new station and the suburban railway line in Malaga-Fuengirola.  A high-speed AVE is in the planning too.
The new terminal is part of a Master Plan, which includes building a second runway, a new control tower, expansion of the platforms for aircraft parking and review, with an area specially designed for the Airbus A380, a new parking and improved access.
Upon arrival, Don Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were greeted by the president of the Junta de Andalucía, José Antonio Griñán, Development Minister, Jose Blanco, the government delegate in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Juan Jose Lopez Garzon, Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, Secretary of State for Transport, María Concepción Gutiérrez, and President of AENA, Juan Ignacio Lema. Next, the Kings were hailed by the directors of Public Works and Transport, Tourism, Trade and Sport, and Culture of the Andalusian, Rosa Aguilar, Luciano Alonso and Rosa Torres, respectively, the mayor Alhaurin de la Torre, Joaquín Villanova, Ferrovial Chairman Rafael del Pino, President of Adviser of Chambers of Commerce, Javier Gomez Navarro, former Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez, the director of Spanish airports, Javier Marin, and director of Malaga Airport.
Their Majesties uncovered a plaque commemorating the inauguration and toured the shopping and the shipping dock of the new terminal, accompanied by architect Bruce Fairbanks