Funding row brews on second runway

A DESPERATELY-needed new runway at Brisbane Airport could be built by the Federal Government but the operators would be slapped with the bill.

Brisbane Airport Corporation yesterday re-opened the small cross-runway which has been out of action since October, saying it should help ease some delays by taking up to seven per cent of the 600-plus flights each day.

But airport chiefs again refused to give a guarantee they would build a new parallel runway due for completion by 2020 to cope with a forecast rise in passengers from 21.5 million to 30 million.

Late again? Use the hashtag #bnelateagain to tell your tale of woe when you’re delayed at Brisbane Airport.

If they carry out a threat to halt construction when work on the first phase finishes in the middle of this year, the Government has the power to construct the infrastructure itself and charge them for it.

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Federal Transport and Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese last night repeated his comments from last week that his department was monitoring the situation.

The new parallel runway, first featured in plans more than two decades ago, will deliver $5 billion of economic benefit per year by 2035 and create around 2700 jobs during construction and ongoing work for 7800 people by 2035.

But the $1.3 billion project is in deadlock, with airlines refusing BAC’s demands that they pay a quarter of the cost in advance.

Airport chiefs say they can’t afford to pay for the runway without the airlines’ support and won’t commit to starting the $500 million second stage.

Spokeswoman Leonie Vandeven said yesterday: “We will finish phase one of the parallel runway and we’ve still got some time up our sleeve to complete these negotiations and we do hope to come to some sort of conclusion by the end of the year.”

Funding row brews on second runway