Works are underway on the expansion of the general aviation western precinct to meet future demand for airside lots.
This project will involve design and site preparation to enable the expansion of the general aviation western precinct. The budget allocation will cover project design, subdivision of new leaseholder lots and connection of services.
The project will enable the airport to meet future demand for airside lots for hangar development, which are not available at present.
The works will allow for planned growth of the airport precinct, and was identified in the recent Airport Master Plan as a priority to encourage growth in general aviation.
Stages 2 and 3 of the project will be carried out over the next two financial years and will include apron construction and development of service roads to access the new hangar allotments.
We'll be converting 130 runway lights at the airport to LED. Currently, these runway lights are 45w halogen lamps, and they’ll be replaced with 8w LED lamps, resulting in significant savings on energy and maintenance costs.
In fact, the reduced energy use will reduce costs by $4,072 per year, meaning the project will pay for itself within less than nine years.
The new LED lights will last longer than the halogen lamps and also eliminate problems with sourcing replacement fittings for the existing system.
As part of that energy-saving program, the draft budget contains a further $80,000 to investigate the expansion of the airport’s existing solar array, including the potential for batteries to store power.