The Western Sydney Airport (also known as Badgerys Creek Airport) is a designated site for the second Sydney airport, located within the suburb of Badgerys Creek. The Airport is a planned 24 hour, curfew-free airport, with Stage 1 of the Airport expected to be complete in 2026. The site was officially designated by the Federal Government on 15 April 2014, after decades of debate on the location of another airport within the Sydney basin.
The site of the proposed airport is situated 44 kilometres (27 mi) west of the Sydney CBD and 41 km (25 mi) west of the Kingsford Smith Airport. The site is located within 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the Blue Mountains National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and lies 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) east to Warragamba Dam, Sydney's largest drinking water catchment.
The site is within the City of Liverpool local government area and consists of approximately 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) of Commonwealth land that was acquired between 1986 and 1991.
The Federal Government claims the initial construction phase is expected to generate around 4,000 jobs, the airport development is expected to create 35,000 jobs by 2035, increasing to 60,000 jobs over time.
The airport is legislated for construction via the Commonwealth Governments Airports Act 1996, and is known as Sydney West Airport under this Act. The airport will be developed and operated under the Airports Act 1996. The Airport Plan released in December 2016 by the Commonwealth Government for the airport site notes that the airport is referred to in the Airports Act as Sydney West Airport and also is commonly known as Western Sydney Airport.
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Flight paths
On 19 October 2015, the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released by the coalition government. This Statement outlined the proposed flight paths for Western Sydney Airport from initial opening in mid 2020s to 2050 for future flight paths for an international expansion.
- The draft EIS showed incoming flights merging approx 5,000 feet (1,500 m) over the Blue Mountains town of Blaxland, New South Wales which already lies at an altitude of 768 feet (234 m)
After an extensive community backlash and as a last measure to secure her seat, Liberal MP Louise Markus (now ousted due to this issue) and the coalition government announced a scrapping of this Blaxland merge point.
- In the final EIS, (released on September 15, 2016) the flight plans were still unclear, with only long term 2050 (international expansion) flight paths outlined. The flight paths in use from commencement of the airport's operations are not in the EIS, or available anywhere else.
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Initial development
The site at Badgerys Creek was chosen because it was considered the preferred site by successive studies including an environmental impact statement that was completed in 1999. It is planned that the airport will be built in phases with the initial construction phase building a smaller airport with a single runway. The cost of the initial development has been estimated at A$2.4 billion (as at 2012) and to generate 4,000 jobs. The government plans the initial phase would be complete and operational by 2025. Sydney Airport Corporation, the operator of Sydney Airport, was given the right of first refusal to build and operate any second airport in an agreement reached with the Government when Sydney Airport was sold in 2002. Sydney Airport declined the offer to build and operate the airport on 2 May 2017.
It is believed the initial phase, with only one runway, would be favourable for budget airlines and airlines offering point to point travel. The airport will not have a night-time curfew, as the existing Sydney Airport now does.
Ground transport
Road connections
With the designation of site as the location of Sydney's Second Airport, announcements were made on new and upgraded transport links to the airport and surrounding areas of western Sydney. The announcement included:
- A new east-west motorway M12 to the airport, along the current alignment of Elizabeth Drive between the M7 Westlink Motorway and The Northern Road
- Upgrading of The Northern Road (A9) to a minimum of four lanes from Narellan to the M4 Western Motorway
- Upgrading of Bringelly Road to a minimum of four lanes between The Northern Road and Camden Valley Way
Rail connections
As at 16 April 2014 the Federal Government has said it had no plans to build a train line. However it indicated provision for the train line would be included in the development, this may include preparing the tunnels under the runway as part of the runway construction and preparing the underground space for a station. It is likely the rail connection to the airport would consist of an extension to the South West Rail Link from Leppington. In October 2015, Malcolm Turnbull - who had become Prime Minister the previous month - indicated that the Badgerys Creek Airport would need both road and rail links to Sydney. A scoping study into rail investment to service Western Sydney and the Western Sydney Airport was announced in November 2015. The study is jointly managed by the state and federal governments. A discussion paper was released in September 2016. The paper proposed various options that could provide a rail link to the airport:
Bus connections
The site of the planned airport is presently serviced by bus. As at April 2014, route 801 connects Badgerys Creek to Liverpool while route 789 runs between Luddenham and Penrith.
Current site
The site of the proposed airport is an area of undulating low-lying hills with several small watercourses and lakes. The area is primarily farmland and large acreage allotments.
Development milestones
- 15 April 2014 - Federal Government designated Badgerys Creek as the site for the Second Sydney Airport. Commencement of planning for the site.
- 18 August 2014 - Federal Government formally issues a 'Notice to Consult' to the Sydney Airport Group, to enable formal discussion on development and 'Right of First Refusal' to develop and operate it.
- 20 January 2015 - Construction begins on upgrading Bringelly Road. This is the first major upgrade to one of the 3 roads servicing the airport.
- 20 January 2015 - Geotechnical investigations, to profile the subsoil and rock, begin on the airport site.
- June 2015 - Residents vacate government land reserved for airport.
- 19 October 2015 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is released for public exhibition to enable community consultation.
- 16 September 2016 - Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is released.
- 2 May 2017 - Sydney Airport declines offer to run second airport at Badgerys Creek
- 9 May 2017 - As part of the Federal Budget 2017, the Australian Government has committed up to $5.3 billion over 10 years to build the Western Sydney Airport through a new company, WSA Co.
Construction timeline
- 18 December 2015 - Public exhibition and submission period for the draft EIS closes.
- 15 September 2016 - Final EIS released
- Early 2016 - Construction starts on upgrading roads surrounding the airport site.
- Late 2018 - Major construction works expected to begin at the Badgerys Creek site.
- 2026 - Stage 1 Expected to be Completed.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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