Second Sydney International Airport Approved

Today it was announced that a second international airport will be constructed in Sydney at an estimated cost of $2.5 billion.

The new facility will be located at Badgerys Creek, approximately 45km west of the Australian city’s business district. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, revealed the news at a press conference in Canberra. PM Abbott said construction is scheduled to begin in 2016.

The move is designed to reduce traffic at Sydney Airport, which has “first right of refusal to build and operate the new airport“, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Mr Abbott said: “It’s a long, overdue decision which, to be honest, has been shirked and squibbed by successive governments for far too long. “I also want to stress that the government’s approach will be roads first, airport second, because we don’t want the people of western Sydney to have an airport without having the decent transport infrastructure that western Sydney deserves.”

CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce, said:

Qantas has long supported the building of a second airport at Badgerys Creek, as have a number of detailed studies. After decades of debate, we applaud today’s announcement by the prime minister. The role of second airports has been well-established in several of the world’s major capitals. Sydney is the key gateway for air traffic in-and-out of Australia and the benefits of having two major airports will be felt nationwide. Airports are key pieces of infrastructure that facilitate a huge amount of economic activity, and they take a lot of time to plan and build. We look forward to being part of this process as Badgerys Creek moves closer to reality.

The new airport will definitely help Sydney’s current airport by decreasing its traffic load.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Sydney really needs a second airport?