City Council Supports Construction of New Sydney Airport

2nd Jun 2012

According to the mayor of Leichhardt, Rochelle Porteous, the city of Sydney requires another airport to solve the increasing noise problem within the city's inner neighborhood, especially in the western side where the current airport is located.

Based on the feasibility study conducted by the federal government, Sydney should have another airport to alleviate the noise pollution, which has been the subject of complaints from the residents living close to the airport. As a response, the city council of Leichhardt, on Tuesday, released a report addressing the issue.

The report proposes to convert the existing Mascot facility, expanding the existing facilities as well as constructing a hotel.

Currently, the aircraft movements at the airport hit an average of 148 per day and, by 2020, it was predicted to double that number.

The Sydney Airport and the city of Leichhardt have an existing noise-sharing plan that the aircraft traffic in the city area should not exceed 17 percent, but it has been breached already hitting the 28% mark.

The council has pressured the federal government to hasten the building of another airport and opposes the expansion of the existing airport.

However, Premier Barry O'Farrell of New South Wales doesn't find it, for the time being, a good idea of building another airport for Sydney. He proposed instead to expand the Canberra Airport and construct a rapid rail linking Sydney and the expanded airport.