The City of Busselton has announced that it is working towards securing an airline to commence a Sydney and/or Melbourne route in September 2018, which will be a significant coup for the residents of the City and the South West.
The Busselton-Margaret River Airport Development Project is an exciting project for the South West region and once completed, will be capable of facilitating direct interstate and international flights to destinations including Melbourne, Sydney, Denpasar and Singapore.
Landside Works
With completion of the State Government’s value optimisation review and reiteration of its full support for the Project, the City of Busselton has awarded the contract for the design and construction of landside civil and services infrastructure to Ertech Pty Ltd.
The works include both new and upgraded roads, integrated car parking, development of service zones, provision of services, landscaping and irrigation.
On site works are expected to commence in December 2017 with completion scheduled for June 2018.
Airside Works – Season 2
Following a successful Season 1 work recommenced this month to finalise the airside infrastructure.
The works include widening and strengthening of the existing runway, sealing of the General Aviation Precinct, completion of the helipads, installation of permanent airside lighting, line marking and overlay of the existing apron and taxiway. Airside works are expected to be completed in March 2018.
New Terminal Design
Designs are in progress to enable the tender for the final design and construction of the terminal to be released in late November 2017. Tenders will be issued based on 60% detailed design.
Airfreight Strategy
While the developed Airport provides many direct and indirect economic benefits for the whole region, airfreight continues to represent a significant opportunity. An Airfreight Strategy has been developed and is currently being implemented.
Regional Return
Airside works undertaken in season 1 saw over $5 million returned to the region through engagement of local business, plus a number of new employment opportunities through direct engagement.
Airline Engagement
November will see the focus continue on airline attraction and engagement with the next round of meetings scheduled with major airlines. Workshops to assist business become ‘airline ready’ will commence in early 2018. Further information will be available on the Airport website in the coming weeks.
Future Airport Marketing Fund
Regional commitment to the Project has always been strong but became evident recently with the financial commitment by our local government neighbours and tourism industry partners pledging $445K to the City’s future Airport Marketing Fund. The purpose of the fund is to assist in the attraction and retention of airlines to the South West region of Western Australia.
