Western Sydney Airport

Western-Sydney-Airport

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About Western Sydney Airport

The Western Sydney Airport is almost double the size of the Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport and will be located at Badgery’s Creek. The site of the airport is situated 44 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD and within 7 kilometres to the Blue Mountains National Park.

The new airport is to be completed by 2026 with the Australian Government investing $5.3 billion for construction of the project. It is expected that 28,000 direct jobs are expected to be created in the process by 2031.

Under government plans, the airport will handle up to 10 million passengers a year on both domestic and international flights – similar to Gold Coast’s Coolangatta Airport.

The first runway will be 3.7-kilometre long and will be able to handle large aircrafts such as superjumbos. The airport is predicted to grow further with the second parallel runway predicted to be built by 2050.

Why is Western Sydney Airport being built?

The demand for flights in the Sydney region is forecast to double over the next 20 years. Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport cannot accommodate this demand alone.

The airport is initially expected to handle around five million passengers a year, reaching 10 million passengers by around 2031.

A second runway will be added when needed. By around 2063, the airport is expected to accommodate approximately 82 million passengers annually.

Who is building Western Sydney Airport?

Western Sydney Airport is the company that will build and operate the airport.

The Government will act as the airport regulator and ensure the project meets all necessary design and environmental requirements. The Government will remain responsible for flight path design, road and rail connections and biodiversity offsets.

While several contracts for enabling works have been awarded with Land Survey Services awarded to Veris and Geotechnical Investigation Services awarded to JK Geotechnics, EOIs have opened for a massive earthworks contract.

A key earthworks contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, will go to Lend Lease CPB and work to remove 25 million cubic metres of earth from nearly 1,800 hectares of undulating terrain will start in early 2020.

Work on the site will be divided into stages. The main airport works program for the Stage 1 development will include:
• earthworks to move and redistribute 22 million cubic metres of soil on the Badgerys Creek site;
• a 3.7 kilometre runway, aprons, taxiways and other appropriate aviation facilities;
• a multi-level terminal with a floor area of up to 90,000 square metres;
• drainage and utilities;
• car-parking facilities for around 11,500 cars; and
• on-site roads.

International firm Zaha Hadid Architects and Australian firm Cox Architecture were selected to design the state-of-the-art terminal precinct.

The first runway will be 3.7-kilometre long and will be able to handle large aircrafts such as superjumbos. The airport is predicted to grow further with the second parallel runway predicted to be built by 2050. By 2063, the airport is expected to accommodate 82 million passengers annually.

How will Western Sydney Airport be accessed?

The Australian and NSW governments are constructing new and upgraded roads around the airport under the $4.1 billion Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan (WSIP).

This includes the M12 Motorway, which will connect the airport to Sydney’s motorway network at the M7 in the east and the upgraded The Northern Road in the west.

Through the Western Sydney City Deal, the Australian and NSW governments have committed to fund the first stage of the new north-south rail link, Sydney Metro Greater West.

The Australian Government has committed $3.5 billion and the NSW Government has so far committed $2 billion over four years, with the balance coming over the forward estimates.

Stage 1 will connect St Marys to the Western Sydney Aerotropolis via the airport by its opening in 2026. Sydney Metro Greater West will provide a new transport spine in the region to support jobs and new housing. The business case in late 2019 will finalise the route and station locations.

The story of Badgery’s Creek

James Badgery was a British-born farmer and miller who arrived in Sydney in 1799. In 1806 he was granted 840 acres of land. While he named his property Exeter Farm, the creek running through it became known as Badgery’s Creek.

Do you want to know more?

To find out more about this project, visit: https://westernsydneyairport.gov.au/

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