"Technology to help Sydney Airport handle more traffic"

Friday, August 1, 2003

TECHNOLOGY TO HELP SYDNEY AIRPORT HANDLE MORE TRAFFIC/ PLAN
Asia Pulse


SYDNEY, Asia Pulse - Sydney Airport would be able to handle more traffic
without major changes to its infrastructure thanks to improvements in
aircraft technology, its operators said today.

Sydney Airport Corporation Limited (SACL) today released for public comment
a draft master plan for the next 20 years of airport development.

SACL chief executive Max Moore-Wilton said infrastructure was being upgraded
worldwide to cope with technological changes.

"Over the next 20 years the number of passengers at Sydney Airport will
approximately triple," Mr Moore-Wilton told ABC Radio.

"So the technology is changing quite rapidly.

"And on the basis of what we are seeing today, we believe we can handle
these changes by expanding the airport without doing any major change to the
architecture of the airport runways.

"That's what's happening in cities all over the world - you're improving it
(airport infrastructure) to handle changes in technology.

"And that's what we have to do."

The draft plan forecasts a tripling of passenger numbers to 68.3 million by
2023/24, when there will be around 412,000 aircraft movements each year.

The domestic and international passenger terminals would be extended while
air freight facilities would be relocated to land north of the airport.

Mr Moore-Wilton said the report had taken six months to prepare and the
public was now invited to comment on it.

It would be presented to federal Transport Minister John Anderson at the end
of the year.

Noise levels would remain generally steady over the period covered by the
report, Mr Moore-Wilton said.

"There will be some marginal increase but a lot of the increase will be over
water," he said.

"... we're saying that noise is manageable and within the current framework
of restrictions and restraints."


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