Sydney set to have second airport: government

Canberra, May 2 (IANS) Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed on Tuesday the construction of Sydney's second airport, which is scheduled to be operational by 2026, a statement said.

The construction of the new airport in the western suburb of Badgerys Creek would be included in the next national budget, set to be presented to Parliament on May 9, the statement added.

"It is a vitally important project for... the nation, which is why the Coalition Government ended decades of indecision by committing to the project in 2014," Efe news quoted Turnbull.

So far, no official data on the amount of investment has been provided, while analysts from the Macquarie Group estimate the cost of the new airport at around $4.07 billion

Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher told local broadcaster ABC that the new airport is "vitally important" because the only terminal for commercial flights in the city would soon be overcrowded.

The new airport was expected to create some 9,000 jobs by the early 2030s, and 60,000 jobs in the long-term.

According to a parliamentary paper, state and federal leaders have been arguing about the need to build a second airport in Sydney, the country's most populous city, since the 1940s.

The government's decision was confirmed after the Sydney Airport Group, the owner of Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport, said on Tuesday it would not take on the new project, citing risks on monetary returns.