The Broken Hill Airport is set for another round of upgrades after Council received $4.98 million in funding through the NSW Government’s Resources For Regions program.
This money will be used to reconstruct the airport’s taxi-ways and aprons to accommodate extra aircraft storage and movement at the airport, and improve safety and access for Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft.
The upgrades follow $2.4 million worth of NSW Government-funded works that were recently completely at the airport, including all new fencing, cabling, PAPI radio navigation infrastructure, and path indicator lighting.
Council’s General Manager, Jay Nankivell, said the upgrades represent another step in the right direction with regard to the much-needed overhaul of the city’s airport, and thanked the NSW Government for their generous support.
“Council staff have been pursuing Government funding for airport upgrades for many years, so it’s great to see the level of support we’ve received from the NSW Government over the past few years.
“Both the current and former Council have also been tireless in their lobbying of State and Federal Members and Ministers to garner support for the airport, and those efforts should also be acknowledged.
“The challenge for us now is to continue the fight for funding to upgrade the airport runway and security so we can handle larger aircraft such as Boeing 737s.
“There’s going to be a significant increase in demand for air travel in the coming years as major mining and energy projects ramp up in the region, and it is critical that Broken Hill’s airport infrastructure can handle that growth.”
Mr Nankivell said Council is also seeking another $5 million in funding through the Federal Government’s Regional Airport Fund, however outcomes from that funding stream have not yet been announced.
