Tullamarine expansion fails to get off ground
According to The Age Melbourne Airport is apparently postponing plans for an estimated half-billion-dollar expansion of the domestic terminal at Tullamarine due to the meltdown in global financial markets and fears of worldwide recession.
Melbourne Airport chief executive Chris Woodruff told The Age he planned to make an announcement on the domestic project in the new year but, because of ongoing expansion to the international terminal and global financial turmoil, he was reluctant to commit to any further capital works.
The delay means the planned expansion of the domestic terminal will not begin until 2010 at the earliest.
“We were seriously considering, during 2009, actually starting the next phase of our domestic terminal expansion,” Mr Woodruff said. “Clearly, if demand is tailing off, we won’t be doing that. We will just defer that by a year, or another year, or another year, depending on what the financial climate is.”
Melbourne Airport is midway though a $330 million expansion of the international terminal and a $70 million expansion of parking facilities. It is spending $1 million every working day on construction costs.
Mr Woodruff said both projects would be completed, but an anticipated decline in traffic over the next six to 12 months would halt further plans.
“We are certainly not going to be stopping our $330 million international expansion,” Mr Woodruff said. “We will rock’n’roll on that.” He said an expansion of the domestic terminal would cost between $400 million and $600 million and was vital to meet demand.
“If you look to history, there will be a 12-month to two-year slow-down, but it’s not going to be permanent. We need that extra domestic capacity at Melbourne, so we are simply deferring that project.”
Wayne Kayler-Thomson, chief executive of the Victoria Tourism Industry Council, lamented the delay, saying, “This is a sad sign of the uncertain times we are in”.
“Melbourne Airport has a great track record of building infrastructure ahead of demand and we hope that this project can come on stream again once the economy shows signs of turning for the better.”
A Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season