The sky’s the limit at Melbourne Airport
As the aerotropolis emerges as the economic engine room of the 21st century, Victoria is poised to create a new major jobs hub and economic centre, says Melbourne Airport’s chief of property, Linc Horton.
While Sydney’s new airport at Badgerys Creek stole most of the headlines last year, the Victorians are developing their own airport city.
Melbourne Airport’s annual passenger numbers are forecast to exceed 60 million as soon as 2033, up from 35 million today.
A third runway is “absolutely essential” to accommodate this growth, Horton (pictured right) says, and the Airport’s Runway Development Plan is the “biggest project we’ve ever undertaken”.
“Today we have a maximum of around 55 aircraft movements an hour with our existing runways – adding a third runway would increase that to more like 100.”
Equally important will be a strategy to manage the traffic flows in and out of the airport, and throughout the surrounding communities.
Horton says the projected growth in passenger numbers cannot be effectively serviced without an airport rail link, but the rail option “will only be successful if it helps to tackle the wider issue of congestion in Victoria’s transport network overall”.
“A rail link to the airport needs to service more than just the airline passengers who are travelling every day.”
An airport rail link has been in the pipeline since the mid-1960s, but has recently gained momentum after the federal and state governments committed $30 million towards a planning study.
In November, Premier Daniel Andrews promised that an airport link would be under construction by the time the $11.3 billion Metro rail tunnel opens in 2026.
The Premier said the rail link would be more than “just be an expensive funnel for tourists and businesspeople between the CBD and airport”. Instead, it would “transform the way people live, work and travel across Victoria”.
The airport is already one of Victoria’s largest employment zones with more than 16,000 people working in aviation or careers that supports the airport’s wider operation.
The airport’s location in the north west is a “major strategic asset”, sitting almost at the junction of three major arterial roads.
“We have to be really smart about how we use the space available,” Horton says.
“Growth means we can develop an increasingly strong economic centre that provides significant opportunities for employment – effectively becoming a major jobs hub outside of the Melbourne CBD,” he says.
At 410 hectares, the Melbourne Airport Business Park is the largest of its kind in the country, and is already home to a wide range tenants, including Porsche, Toll, TNT, Border Express and French transportation company Bolloré.
“Growth is our main plan for Melbourne Airport Business Park, we have more than 160 hectares still available for development with construction, having recently commenced a 15,000 sqm warehouse and a 8,000 sqm logistics facility slated to begin next month,” Horton says.
Adjacent to the business park lies the Essendon Football Club, residing within a much larger 57-hectare precinct earmarked for further development. This will see it become Australia’s largest urban entertainment and leisure precinct.
The market has already heard about the Wave Park, a 320-metre lagoon that generates multiple waves every 90 seconds, which is due to start on site within the next few months. The airport is in negotiation with several companies and Horton expects further announcements within this year.
The airport is already in negotiation with several companies and Horton expects earth moving to begin mid-year.
Several high-density precincts also “aren’t far from kicking off”, Horton adds. Among these are a new hotel and several commercial developments.
“There’s a real demand in Melbourne for additional hotel capacity, and we have a project underway to look at how we can introduce several hundred additional rooms to the airport.”
A further two commercial offices are also being constructed, with new tenants joining the Australian Federal Police, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.
“Demand for office space at Melbourne Airport is at unprecedented levels,” Horton explains.
New retailing to complement the office space will provide “self-contained” amenity within the precinct.
The airport is also investigating the potential for “perhaps Melbourne’s largest high density green field development”.
The 6.3-hectare site located right at the gateway to Melbourne Airport would “solidify the airport as Melbourne’s largest decentralised employment hub,” Horton explains.
Among the potential uses are commercial office, retail, entertainment, as well as medical and health services. In total, the precinct is forecast to deliver 300,000 sqm of built space.
The airport is also investing in new terminal capacity to “enhance the traveller experience”. Projects underway include a luxury retail and dining precinct at international departures, an eighth baggage carousel and new lounges.
Melbourne Airport also handles more than 30 per cent of Australia’s international air freight market.
“Around a third of the airport’s economic contribution to Victoria comes from facilitating air freight, especially export, so we have a real focus on attracting freight forwarders and logistics companies to our estate,” Horton adds.
The Property Council has been vocal about Melbourne Airport’s strategic importance to the Victorian economy for some time, says Senior Policy Advisor for Infrastructure, Linda Allison.
“With Sydney airport at capacity, Melbourne has a unique opportunity to develop a world class commercial and industrial precinct around the airport and beyond.
“Unlocking the Melbourne airport precinct would provide jobs for the growth areas, and an alternative major business district for international companies to locate, with the convenience of the airport at the doorstep.
“The sky really is the limit,” Linda Allison concludes.