Ten freight and logistics companies have agreed to provide input towards the design and operation of the cargo facilities at Western Sydney Nancy-Bird Walton International Airport.
The 10 companies have signed memorandum of understanding covering design concepts for the freight precinct, as well as potential operations at the airport currently being built at Badgerys Creek in Sydney’s west.
Australia Post (including StarTrack), DB Schenker, DHL Express, DSV Air and Sea, FedEx, Menzies Aviation, Swissport, Qantas Freight, Skyroad Logistics and Wymap signed the MOU on Monday.
Western Sydney Airport chief executive Graham Millett said the airport had the potential to become Sydney’s most important freight hub, generating thousands of airport jobs.
He said insights from the international freight companies would help optimise the design and functionality of the precincty for its customers.
With Australian airports presently transporting more than one million tonnes of freight annually, and the amount forecast to grow considerably over the next decade, Millet said the airport‘s unrestricted 24/7 operations would be the “key to unlocking new export opportunities for businesses and producers across Western Sydney and NSW.”
“Growing demand for pharmaceuticals, temperature-sensitive and perishable products will also play a key role in the future of air freight,” Millett said in a statement.
“Goods produced in New South Wales will no longer have to be trucked to Brisbane or Melbourne in order to reach lucrative Asian markets overnight.”
Paul Thomson, managing director of DSV Air & Sea (Australia and New Zealand), part of the logistics industry working group providing input into the design and flow of the air freight service, said construction of the new airport was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a major city with the potential to redefine air freight cargo movements throughout the larger Sydney area.
Peter Assel, managing director of Skyroad Logistics, said Sydney was the hardest city for handling air cargo movements due to infrastructure limitations, so the new airport would provide a closer solution than present secondary feeder airports.
The first stage of the proposed freight facility was being geared to process about 220,000 tonnes of airfreight a year using multiple dedicated freighter aircraft stands that have the ability to scale up to 1.8 million tonnes as demand grew.
The precinct will have dedicated road access, separating heavy vehicles from passenger traffic that will enter the airport from the M12 motorway on the opposite side of the site.
Millett said the airport would also provide significant opportunities for Australian exporters, including the agribusiness precinct located adjacent to the airport.
The airport was expected to open in 2026.
The partnership with freight and logistics companies followed Qantas and Virgin Australia signing an MOU with the airport in June to collaborate on a wide number of areas, including design and plan for the airport.
10 of Australia's biggest freight companies have now committed to @flyWSA. Today they took their trucks to the site where they are planning to build a hub for exports and imports especially parcels ordered online. https://t.co/OF81oZFF1j #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/sl57yq5lZ0
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) August 19, 2019
