Sydney's second major airport gets green light

The Australian government has given the final approval for the construction of Sydney's second major airport, a statement said on Monday.

"After decades of studies and planning, all the approvals are now in place. We can now get on with building the airport so that it is ready to take its first passengers by the mid-2020's," Xinhua news agency quoted the joint statement from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher as saying.

Stage 1 of the airport in western Sydney will include a single runway and facilities for 10 million passengers annually by the mid-2020s, while a second parallel runway is scheduled to be required by around 2050, the statement said.

Sydney needs the second airport at Badgerys Creek because the current Kingsford Smith one is operating at full capacity, the media quoted Qantas CEO Alan Joyce as saying.

"Sydney is already full, Kingsford Smith is full, we have called for this capacity for sometime. (This) will be great for Sydney, New South Wales and Australia," Joyce said.

--IANS

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