President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would let voters decide whether to continue construction of the Mexico City International Airport, throwing into doubt the country’s biggest public-works project and billions in investment and debt.

Designed in part by UK architect Norman Foster, the airport is about one-third complete. About $5.2 billion has been spent on the infrastructure project, the biggest of the administration of current President Enrique Peña Nieto.

A public vote will be held in October, months before López Obrador officially takes office in December, leaving the fate of the project in the hands of the public.

In a press conference, the president-elect referred to the project as a “bottomless pit” and detailed plans for a public vote on the project in October, vowing the results would be “binding”.

“The plan is to provide the Mexican people all the relevant information, truthfully and objectively, so that we can all decide together on this important matter of national interest,” López Obrador added.

Image credits: Foster + Partners.