Sydney to get second airport after 50-year wait

[SYDNEY] Australia has approved a US$2.4 billion project to build a long-awaited second airport for Sydney, likely boosting near-term investment and jobs in a bet that the city's air travel demand will grow enough to justify a surge in terminal capacity.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the plan yesterday, saying that he expects work at the Badgerys Creek site in Western Sydney, 60 kilometres from the city centre, to begin in 2016. The A$2.5 billion (S$2.9 billion) project will be funded mostly by the private sector, he said, with first flights expected in the mid-2020s.

A second airport for Sydney was first proposed over 50 years ago, but became mired in political debate before Mr Abbott promised to build one in last year's victorious election campaign.