Federal Budget 2014: search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to cost Australia up to $89.9 million
BUDGET papers reveal the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is expected to keep costing Australians for years to come.
THE search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 could end up costing Australia up to $89.9 million — and officials are budgeting for the hunt to last a long time.
As the search in the southern Indian Ocean continues, Federal Budget papers reveal further funding of up to $60 million will be provided to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau over two years.
The Joint Agency Coordination Centre, which was established on March 30 to oversee the search for the missing plane, will cost $2 million over two years.
The Department of Defence will receive a cash boost of $27.9 million over two years for the cost of its role in the search for the plane.
It has sent planes and ships out in a so-far unsuccessful search for wreckage.
The actual cost of the search for the plane — which disappeared after departing Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of March 8 with 239 people on board — will depend on how long the hunt takes and how much money is contributed by other countries.
Originally published as Federal Budget 2014: search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to cost Australia up to $89.9 million