The gateway that will welcome passengers to Western Sydney airport has been unveiled, with the final major construction contract awarded.
Construction of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport’s landside precinct will begin in 2022 after the contract was awarded to Aerowest Joint Venture made up of BMD Constructions Pty Ltd and Seymour Whyte Constructions Pty Ltd, following a competitive procurement process.
Western Sydney Airport CEO Simon Hickey said the contract is the last piece of the puzzle for the project’s major procurement, completed ahead of schedule.
“This is where your journey at Western Sydney International begins and ends,” Mr Hickey said.
“Whether you’re arriving by car, bus or rail, this will be the welcome mat for our customers at what will be Australia’s best airport terminal.
“We know that getting to and from airports is one of the biggest pain points for travellers – passengers and airlines will love using Western Sydney International because the experience we deliver will be fast, seamless and reliable from start to finish.”
Construction of the landside precinct will involve integrating the new M12 Motorway, which will connect the airport to Sydney’s motorway network, and the airport’s two stations on the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line, with one stop at the passenger terminal and the other at the business precinct.
It will also involve construction of carparks, roads, bridges, utilities connections, operational buildings and landscaping.
Mr Hickey said the contract is expected to create more than 700 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs through flow-on benefits to suppliers and the local economy.
Western Sydney Airport has also contracted DXC Technology, a company with a proven track record of delivering IT services to some of the world’s biggest organisations, to design and deliver the airport’s technology framework that will allow more than 60 technology systems to talk to each other to deliver a fast, seamless journey for customers.
“This is the technology framework that will ensure Sydney’s new global gateway delivers our airline, passenger and air cargo customers an incredible experience unrivalled in Australia,” Mr Hickey said.
“Unlike other airports that need to retrofit aging infrastructure, Western Sydney Airport has a unique greenfield opportunity to build an airport from the ground up with consideration for technologies that are emerging or yet to be imagined.
“This technology partner will work with us to consider what a digitally-enabled airport opening in 2026 will look like and how we can incorporate tomorrow’s technology to transform the customer experience and avoid the frustrations that can be encountered at other airports.”
Western Sydney International is on track to open to international, domestic and air cargo services in late 2026.