Western Sydney Airport: Failure to fund and build six new roads risks passengers flying into ‘ghost town’

The 24-hour airport in Western Sydney is designed to be the centre of a new aerotropolis city, but key roads to connect it with the rest of Sydney remain unfunded.

Passengers arriving at the new Western Sydney Airport could be jetting into “a ghost town” unless six critical roads are built now, a new report has warned.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) midterm review of work on the new aerotropolis found the critical roads will not be ready before cargo flights begin in 2025.

“We cannot have a “ghost-town” when tourists start to land at the 24 hour Nancy Bird Walton Airport, we must resolve the critical planning issues to get development pathways moving to start the process to build a new city at Bradfield,” UDIA NSW chief executive Steve Mann said.

The report found the key roads around the aerotropolis were “the major concern” because they currently had no funding allocated to build them.

The six vital road corridors identified in the report are the Eastern Ring Road; Fifteenth Ave (west); Metro Link Road/Bradfield; Luddenham Road; Devonshire Road and Badgerys Creek Road South.

The Western Sydney International airport site at Badgerys Creek in November 2022. The airport is on track to receive cargo flights in 2025. Picture: Nearmap

It also called for an urgent stormwater strategy and warned without it developers would be forced into “complicated planning pathways and costly temporary solutions” that would impact future projects.

“With the endgame in sight, government must invest now in the key road and stormwater infrastructure to ensure development is on the ground as the planes take off in 2026. Next year is an important time for enabling infrastructure to be confirmed so pre-leases can be secured,” Mr Mann said.

Failure to deliver those crucial pieces of infrastructure could see investment going to other states, he warned.

“With industrial vacancy rates at their lowest level for many years, we need the final investment in the key roads to get development pathways moving for first movers, such as warehousing and logistics, at the Aerotropolis, which are critical to the Sydney region’s economy and to NSW,” Mr Mann said.

“We cannot have a drain of industrial development to other states, especially with so much potential at the Aerotropolis. Let’s make that final investment in critical infrastructure to get development moving and provide the much needed jobs in Greater Western Sydney,” he said.

The report’s findings were backed by Adam Leto, Executive Director of the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, who called for funding for the critical roads to be locked in.

The runways might be nearly ready, but the roads nearby are not. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“In order to unlock the job-generating opportunities in the Aerotropolis, there really does need to be a significant investment in the improvement of the local road network,” Mr Leto said.

“Landowners in these areas are keen to get started on their projects and are looking for certainty, and to know that there is clear and easy access to and from their site. At the moment they’re stuck in limbo.

“Without firm funding commitments, and greater certainty, there’s a real risk that future investors will take their business interstate,” he said.

A Transport for NSW spokesman said the state and federal governments had already made “significant investments” in roads connecting the aerotropolis including the $2 billion M12 and $1.6 billion upgrade of The Northern Road.

“Transport for NSW is working closely with several other agencies to deliver on our plan for Aerotropolis roads and infrastructure,” he said.

“We are committed to supporting growth in the Greater Western Sydney area through the planning and construction of transport infrastructure and delivery of transport services, including active transport corridors, roads, and public transport networks,” he said.

“Construction will begin next year on Mamre Road Stage 1 between the M4 Motorway at St Clair and Erskine Park Road at Erskine Park.”

Originally published as Western Sydney Airport: Failure to fund and build six new roads risks passengers flying into ‘ghost town’