The Western Parkland City and Aerotropolis

Since 2016, focus on the rebalancing of Greater Sydney and future economic prosperity of the metropolis has been around the economic opportunities of the future Western Sydney International Airport. The proposed airport is Australia’s most transformational infrastructure project. It drives the vision of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis which is planned to become a thriving economic hub delivering new jobs, homes, infrastructure and services at the edge of Western Sydney.

Image: Artists impression of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis Station

Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport has the potential to be a game-changer for Western Sydney. Strategic planning for the greenfield land around the airport will unlock opportunities to deliver new jobs and homes supported by key infrastructure in the heart of Western Sydney. This is a key project in the GSC’s plans for the '30-minute city'.

The Western Aerotropolis has the potential to make a significant contribution to 200,000 new jobs for Western Sydney, by establishing a new high-skill jobs hub across aerospace, defence, manufacturing, healthcare, freight and logistics, agribusiness, education and research industries. Residents and workers in Western Sydney will benefit from easy access to strong local and international connections and a 24-hour economy.

Construction of the airport has now commenced but the first flights are not anticipated until 2026. A new north-south metro link will be the spine of future development in Western Sydney around the new airport and Western Sydney Aerotropolis, due to open in time for the first passenger flights to land at the airport.

Infrastructure Australia (IA) has advised the cost of this $11 billion rail line will outweigh its benefits by $1.8 billion. A report released in March 2021 found the government’s business case for the project “may be overestimated”, based on several flawed assumptions including funding forecasts for the number of people who will move to live near the airport rather than the Central Coast or Wollongong. IA found only 18% of the rail line’s benefits will be for public transport users. Instead, majority of the benefits “are from the value of land increasing”.¹¹ It is also fair to say that there are limited mechanisms to capture this value as the plans have come too late, with landowners already realising the increased value of their land.

Over the next 20 years, the vision for Western Sydney Airport and Aerotropolis is to position Western Sydney as a major focus of future economic growth in Sydney. The Western Aerotropolis represents a model of how prosperity, high standards of environmental sustainability, economic growth and social change can be driven by vision and whole-of-government action.

¹¹ Sydney Metro: Western Sydney Airport rail link slammed by Infrastructure Australia (smh.com.au)