“Days like today really reinforce that Western Sydney International will be an airport for the people,’’ says Katy Hannouch.
The general manager of community engagement and social impact for Western Sydney Airport (WSA) was speaking soon after yesterday’s tour of the site by around 600 local families.
They were there to see for themselves its construction progress, learn about current and future opportunities at the airport and get up close to some of the machinery that has worked across Australia’s largest earthmoving project.
They took selfies in a dump truck, took part in an artefact dig, learned about the site’s cultural heritage and conducted water testing, among several hands-on activities.
Face painting, bee-hive making, food trucks, bush-tucker tasting and a junior tradies activation were also on offer to the visitors.
Ms Hannouch said a highlight for many was a guided tour of the site to see the under construction runway and terminal begin to take shape.
“The WSA community open day is a great chance for the public to see the progress on this region-shaping project that will benefit this community and the Sydney basin for generations to come,” Ms Hannouch said.
“Earthworks across the 1,780 hectare site are almost complete with 24 million out of the total 26 million cubic metres of earth moved so far.”
Ms Hannouch said it was also an exciting opportunity for the community to learn about the thousands of local jobs the airport is creating during construction and into operations and speak to some of the people working on the project.
“Western Sydney Airport has a strong commitment to the community and is the catalyst for unprecedented investment in the region,’’ she said.
“WSI has directly injected more than $100 million into Western Sydney businesses during construction so far, and around 50 per cent of our workforce live in the region.
“Whether that’s our passengers, the airlines they fly with or our cargo partners, we’re taking every advantage of building a new airport from the ground up to ensure the experience we offer our customers is unlike any other Australian airport.’’
