Early earthworks are currently underway on Western Sydney Airport, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison turning the first sod on the site at Badgerys Creek, signalling the start of the project’s construction phase.
The Australian government is investing up to $5.3 billion in equity to deliver Sydney’s second airport, which Morrison has labelled as “the biggest game-changer for the city since the Harbour Bridge was built”.
A joint venture between Lendlease and CPB Contractors will be in charge of moving about 1.8 million cubic metres of soil to start levelling the land. These works are set to prepare the ground for the eventual runway, as well as terminal construction. At present, there is around 40m between the lowest and highest points on the site.
Due to start next year, the major earthworks will involve moving 22 million cubic metres of dirt and rock. Access roads and drainage will also be constructed to allow major construction to begin at the end of 2019.
Western Sydney Airport has solicited expressions of interest for the first of three major earthworks and airside civil works packages, which is likely to be awarded in the middle of next year.
It will be one of the largest earthmoving projects in the country’s history, with 1,780 hectares of land – twice the size of Sydney airport – needing to be flattened.
“Building Western Sydney Airport is one of the biggest earthmoving challenges in Australian history,” said Graham Millett, Western Sydney Airport chief executive.
“This site is very challenging, the difference between the highest and lowest points is the equivalent of a 12-storey building.”
According to an estimate, 11,000 jobs will be created during the construction phase and approximately 28,000 within five years of the opening of the airport.
Western Sydney Airport is expected to serve up to 10 million travellers when it opens, with one runway handling international, domestic and freight flights. However, a gradual expansion to two runways means it will allow the facility to cater for up to 82 million passengers.
It will also be at the centre of the NSW government’s Aerotropolis, which will be a business precinct that the government hopes will bring a further 200,000 jobs to Sydney’s west.
“This airport will remove the handbrake from the Western Sydney economy,” Morrison said.
“An airport is a gateway to the world, not just for people, but for job-producing freight as well. This is job-generating infrastructure.
“Most times when infrastructure is built, there is job creation in the short-term and then it tails off when the project is completed. But with this project, job creation will accelerate when the airport is completed.
“This will be a piece of economic infrastructure that supports our economy, that supports all Australians from one end of the country to the other.”
The massive construction project will be the first major airport built in Australia since Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport in 1970.
The Federal government has also pledged $3.6 billion towards upgrades to local roads and highways, in particular the M12, to connect the Western Sydney Airport to the motorway network and CBD.
Virgin and Qantas have already committed to the new airport, with initial plans for premium domestic services operating from day one in 2026.
Federal cities and urban infrastructure minister Alan Tudge said it would be a full-service airport from the day it opens, catering for both low-cost and premium airlines.
“This airport is going to deliver more choice, more convenience and with competition, downward pressure on airline prices,” Tudge added.
“When it opens, it won’t just be an airport, but it’ll have a rail connection and it will have a motorway connection.”
The new airport will operate without a curfew on flights when it opens, but the flight paths have yet to be finalised. About $75 million of a federal budget for the airport has been set aside to reduce the impact of aircraft noise and potentially compensate nearby residents badly affected.