Broken Hill Airport is set for another round of upgrades, which ultimately is a step closer to larger Boeing 737 planes able to take-off and land, after the City Council secured $4.98m funding from the Resources for Regions program.
The funding will be used to reconstruct the airport’s taxiways and aprons to cater for extra aircraft storage and movement at the airport. It will also improve safety and access for Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft.
Council is also waiting on the outcome on an application for an additional $5m in Federal cash through the Regional Airport Fund.
“The challenge for us now is to continue the fight for funding to upgrade the airport runway and security so we can handle larger aircraft such as Boeing 737s,” Broken Hill Council’s General Manager, Jay Nankivell says.
“There’s going to be a significant increase in demand for air travel in the coming years as major mining and energy projects ramp up in the region, and it is critical Broken Hill’s airport infrastructure can handle that growth,” he says.
This latest round of upgrades comes hot on the heels of the recent $2.4m worth of NSW government-funded works at the airport which saw new fencing, cabling, PAPI radio navigation infrastructure, and path indicator lighting.
There is no specific timeline yet for the latest upgrades – that’s dependent on successful tenders.
