Melbourne airport eyes $3.5bn upgrade

Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport would get a new runway and a transport hub under a $3.5 billion draft master plan, to cater for millions more passengers.

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A new runway, expanded international terminal and a transport hub are all canvassed in a $3.5 billion redevelopment plan for Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport.

Victoria's capital is expecting tens of millions more passengers in the coming decades.

"The vision for the terminal is to get to 100 million passengers, so to be able to meet that 70 million passengers by 2038 we absolutely need another runway, that is part of the planning," Melbourne Airport parking and ground access chief Lorie Argus told 3AW on Monday.

The airport would consult with the community and airlines on the east-west runway, Ms Argus said.

The international terminal would be expanded under the plan, which would also overhaul the way passengers get to and leave the airport.

"We're currently planning to develop T2 International," Ms Argus said.

"For anyone who arrives into Melbourne today, that area the arrivals hall is quite constrained, so we're looking at a large expansion there of the international terminal to really bring us up to the world's best class that people expect when they're travelling internationally today

"We're looking at a completely new transport hub which will see all of the pick up and drop off integrated into the front of the terminal, actually using some of the car park you see today in T1, 2, 3 - we will take out car spaces to create drop off and pick up our passenger flows which will give us a lot more space and free up that forecourt area for the next five to 10 years."

Ms Argus said the airport was also preparing for rail line.

The state and federal governments have both committed to an airport train and business case is expected for it in September.

The Melbourne Airport master plan is worth about $3.5 billion, the Herald Sun reported on Monday.

The plan needs to be submitted to the federal government by December 18, 2018.

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2 min read
Published 10 July 2018 11:12am
Updated 10 July 2018 1:00pm
By Helen Chen
Source: AAP


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