Heathrow Airport will undergo a �1.5bn redevelopment

London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Hillingdon Council gave planning permission for a �1.5bn redevelopment of the west London airport.

Heathrow East will replace Terminals 1 and 2, with the first phase of the work expected to be completed in time for the London Olympics in 2012.

Airport operator BAA highlighted the terminal's "green" factors and said it was "great news for passengers".

Heathrow will be like a new airport for London Tony Douglas, BAA chief executive

Heathrow East is part of a �6.2bn, 10-year investment programme to transform Heathrow.

It includes the opening of Terminal 5 in March 2008, a refurbishment of Terminal 4 and the eventual demolition of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.

BAA chief executive Tony Douglas said: "I'm delighted that we've got the green light for Heathrow East. This is great news for passengers.

'Climate change'

"By June 2012, most of our passengers will be travelling through terminal facilities that aren't even open today and we will have either re-built or redeveloped all our other terminals.

"Heathrow will be like a new airport for London."

Mr Livingstone said he was pleased that parties had agreed on a scheme "that puts energy efficiency and renewables at the heart of plans for a new Heathrow terminal".

He said: "The challenges associated with climate change will define how our city develops in the coming decades and, as the gateway between our city and the world, it is right that Heathrow airport leads the way in meeting those challenges."