Perth Airport Releases Preliminary Draft Master Plan for Future Development

The operator of Perth Airport has released its Preliminary Draft Master Plan for the future development of the airport for public comment, setting the scene for significant further private investment in airport infrastructure over the next two decades.

Airport Master Plans are prepared by all major Australian airports every five years under the requirement of the Airports Act 1996 (Commonwealth), and the Perth Airport Preliminary Draft Master Plan outlines the proposed developments for the next 20 years.

Perth Airport Chief Executive Officer, Brad Geatches said the Master Plan will ensure airport planning addresses demand and growth, while striking a balance between economic development, environmental management and sustainability. 

“The State’s dependence on aviation is framed by the vast distances between population centres in Western Australia and between our State and elsewhere in Australia,” said Mr Geatches. “Over the past five years, Western Australia and Perth Airport have experienced significant change. Our State and population have grown rapidly and so too our demand for commercial aviation services. Six years ago, to support this growth and to improve customer service, Perth Airport embarked on an historic redevelopment program.”

In the past six years, Perth Airport has completed or commenced over $1 billion of capital works, including 92 projects each valued over $5 million. On average, one new aircraft parking position has been constructed each month for the past seven years to cater for the demand (approximately 166 aircraft park overnight at Perth Airport).

“It is vital to our State’s continuing prosperity that we preserve and enhance our capacity to grow commercial aviation services. They connect us within our State, to the rest of Australia and to the world. We project that the number of passengers using Perth Airport each year will grow from 13.6 million in 2013 to 28.5 million within the next 20 years,” Mr Geatches added.

The operations of Perth Airport already add approximately $2.61 billion to the State’s gross regional product (GRP) annually, and this is estimated to grow to $7.04 billion a year by 2034.

“Over the next 20 years, we estimate that the airport precinct will directly and indirectly contribute to employment within Western Australia, increasing from 17,800 employees in 2014 to more than 42,000 in 2034,” Mr Geatches said.

The Airports Act, including the Master Plan process, seeks to ensure that there is an appropriate level of vigilance, transparency and scrutiny of long term airport planning to ensure the public interest is met as airport developments proceed.

The successful development of Perth Airport depends on productive interactions with the wide range of stakeholders who are impacted by, and who impact on, Perth Airport.

“Sensible, coordinated infrastructure planning is necessary to ensure the airport meets the future needs of the Western Australian economy,” said Mr Geatches “The Master Plan is now out for public comment for a period of 60 business days, and we encourage key stakeholders and community members to take the opportunity to provide comments. We will take public comments into account as we finalise the draft Master Plan that will be submitted to the Commonwealth Government for approval in October 2014.”

Mr Geatches said that the Preliminary Draft Master Plan 2014 highlights that investments by governments in the arterial road network in the vicinity of the airport, particularly the Gateway WA project, and the State’s new rail project, the Forrestfield-Airport Link, will be critical to support the development of the airport.

“We are fully committed to this first stage of consolidation, with all projects either completed or under construction. The opening of Terminal 2 in March 2013 and stage one of our International Arrivals Expansion in December 2013 were a significant milestones, and tangible steps towards achieving consolidation,” he added.

Information covered in the Preliminary Draft Master Plan 2014 includes:

Growth forecasts: Passengers through Perth Airport are expected to almost double to 28.5 million annually by 2034, and annual aircraft movements will increase to 222,000.

Economic benefits: The operations of Perth Airport already add approximately $2.61 billion to the State’s gross regional product (GRP) annually, and this is estimated to grow to $7.04 billion a year by 2034.

Aviation (airfield and terminal) development: A program of terminal infrastructure development and expansions to meet future demand as well as the new runway, taxiways, aircraft parking areas and navigation infrastructure.

Land use planning: The identification of five precincts, three of which are non-aeronautical, to cluster developments and further safeguard aviation requirements.

Airport safeguarding: Ongoing management of safe and efficient movement of aircraft to and from Perth Airport adhering to relevant regulations, processes and guidelines.

Aircraft noise management: Updated noise forecasts and an interactive web-based Aircraft Noise Information Portal have been prepared to complement the Master Plan.

Community engagement: An ongoing commitment to supporting and engaging with the local community through a variety of forums.

Ground Transport Plan: Integrated planning to improve access for increasing demand, including roads, rail, forecourts and parking (multi-storey and at grade).

Environment Strategy: Detailing the management of the Perth Airport estate over the next five years to ensure the impacts of growth are managed in an environmentally sustainable way This includes, where certain land is cleared, the application of the Commonwealth Government’s environmental Offsets Policy to purchase land of equivalent environmental value and transfer it into the WA State Conservation Estate for the benefit of all Western Australians.

Public Comment

The Preliminary Draft Master Plan 2014 is available for public review and members of the public are invited to provide written comments until 17:00 WST on Monday, 15 September 2014.

The document is also now available for inspection by members of the public during normal office hours at the following locations:

• Perth Airport Pty Ltd offices, Level 2, 2 George Wiencke Drive, Perth Airport (near Domestic Terminals 3 & 4);

• The Local Government offices and public libraries in the: Town of Bayswater, Cities of Belmont, Bassendean, Canning, Gosnells and Swan, and the Shires of Kalamunda, Mundaring; and

• The State Library of Western Australia.

Free electronic copies of the Preliminary Draft Master Plan 2014 and supporting documents are available for download throughout the public comment period and hard copies may be purchased from Perth Airport Pty Ltd offices.