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Sydney commits to second airport

16 Apr 14 The Australian government has committed to building a second airport for Sydney accompanied by major investment in roads.

The airport will be built at Badgerys Creek in Western Sydney and the initial construction phase is expected to generate about 4,000 jobs.

Although the Western Sydney airport will not be fully operational for a decade, planning for the new airport will start immediately and construction should start in 2016. It is envisaged that most of the cost of the airport will be met by a private sector operator.

For more than 50 years governments have talked about a second airport for Sydney. The decision is seen as being good for economic growth and good for jobs – both in Western Sydney and nationally.

The existing Kingsford-Smith Airport is at risk of reaching capacity.  Sydney’s airport is the gateway to Australia’s largest city and accounts for 40% of international arrivals and 50% of international air freight each year.

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Western Sydney is already Australia’s third largest economy and, in its own right, would be the country’s fourth-largest city.

Building road and rail infrastructure to support Badgerys Creek is seen as not just of benefit to airport users, but also to residents throughout Western Sydney. The government has said that it is critical to act now to finalise the necessary planning, including critical road network upgrades. The approach will be roads first; airport second, with the additional roads ready long before the airport is fully operational.

In coming days, the government will, together with the New South Wales government, announce the details of a major Western Sydney infrastructure package to deliver long investment in the region’s roads.

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