It’s an exciting first for Australia - an opportunity to create a metropolis from the ground up: a vibrant hub for high-skill jobs, research, education and advanced industries.
The Western City and Aerotropolis Authority will work with community, investors, local and global businesses to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to define their place in this new city
Through a process of master planning, place making and precinct activation, we will deliver the infrastructure, technology and services to support 200,000 new jobs and a Western Sydney population that is expected to grow to over 1.5 million by 2036
Being co-located with the new 24-hour international airport presents a once- in- a-generation opportunity to drive trade, promote economic growth and modernise lifestyles.
The city will be globally renowned for its advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defence industries; sustainable agribusiness; freight and logistics; health and medtech and innovative tourism
Success keys
Key to its success will be world-class higher education institutions and industry-led training facilities to enable a highly skilled and capable workforce.
We are fortunate to have partnerships with the NUW Alliance (comprising University of NSW, University of Wollongong and University of Newcastle) and the Western Sydney University.
We will also work with the universities and our industry partners to bring innovative new approaches to vocational education and training.
The Aerotropolis is a global collaboration in our own backyard. In August, the Premier Ms Gladys Berejiklian and Minister Mr Stuart Ayres announced MOUs with BAE Systems Australia, DB Schenker and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. They join the likes of Hitachi Ltd, Northrop Grumman, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Sydney Markets to bring the total number of foundation partners to 17: a clear indication of the international confidence in our local potential.
In August, we commenced the curation process with the foundation partners to determine the nature, scope and requirements for the Aerotropolis.
This will enable us to map the opportunities available for additional local and international businesses. We plan to broaden the scope of this market sounding process in 2020.
Local businesses are hopefully excited by the potential opportunities to modernise and thrive. A state-of-the-art freight and logistics hub, for example, will allow fresh produce from NSW to be transported from local paddocks to international plates using a highly controlled chilled (rather than frozen) supply chain.
It will be a real competitive advantage for Western Sydney, accessing more than three billion mouths in the IndoPacific region within a night’s flight from the curfew-free Nancy-Bird Walton Airport.
Sam Sangster is CEO Western City and Aerotropolis Authority.
