Published on Friday, 19 October 2018 at 2:39:00 PM
The Geraldton Airport is about to become a lot busier as works on three construction projects within the precinct begin in October.
The resurfacing of the airport runway and extension to 2400m began this week whilst construction of the new SES building on Aeromedical Road will kick off at the end of the month.
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the projects would have important long-term economic outcomes for the community.
“More than 60 percent of the $24 million project airport runway projects costs have been secured through grant funding with the Australian Government Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF) contributing $10 million and the State Government Regional Airports Development Scheme (RADS) contributing $6.5 million,” he said.
“Whilst construction of the new $1.8 million SES building is 100 percent funded by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services via the Emergency Services Levy.
“Both the runway projects and the SES building are being constructed by locally based contractors, WBHO and Geraldton Building Services and Cabinets respectively, who employ local people meaning almost $26million will be invested into the local economy.”
The airport runway extension will enable larger aircraft such as the Airbus A330 to land which will benefit the City’s growing international tourism industry, facilitate new airfreight export opportunities and provide an alternative landing site for the Perth Airport. The estimated date of completion of works is June 2019.
Construction of the SES building within the airport precinct will also improve response times in the event of an emergency.
“The new building will provide the 30 plus Geraldton-Greenough SES volunteers with a state of the art facility and effectively position officers with specified roles in relation to airport emergency responses in close proximity to the airport,” said Mayor Van Styn.
“With a projected increase in air traffic expected once the airport runway extension is completed mid-2019 the location of the new building means assistance in the event of an aircraft incident is right at the doorstep.”
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