Sydney to build second international airport
Sydney is to build a second international airport, able to operate 24 hours a day, at the cost of $2.4bn (£1.4bn).
It will be located at Badgerys Creek, in western Sydney, about 45kms from the city’s central business district.
Planning and design work will start immediately, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said, with construction expected to begin in 2016. Funding would come mostly from the private sector and Sydney Airport has been given the right of first refusal to build and operate the new facility.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the second airport was a vital piece of economic infrastructure for Australia – and Badgerys Creek was "clearly the right site".
"The role of second airports has been well-established in several of the world’s major capitals. Sydney is the key gateway for air traffic in-and-out of Australia and the benefits of having two major airports will be felt nationwide," Joyce said.
Peak national industry body Tourism & Transport Forum chief executive Ken Morrison said the airport announcement was "unequivocally great news for Australia’s $107 billion tourism industry".
He said the TTF was happy to hear there were no plans to implement a curfew at Badgerys Creek.
The government go ahead comes nearly 70 years after the idea was first mooted. Badgerys Creek was a proposed site but the idea was then shelved for fear of backlash from local voters.
Around 20 other sites were considered before the government approved the new facility about 45km west of Sydney’s central business district.
Based on early estimates, the first flights in and out of the airport are not expected until the mid-2020s.
Sydney’s current Kingsford Smith Airport is only 8km away from the city and it operates with a curfew between 23:00 and 06:00.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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