Upgrades for a regional airport have taken flight with local council eyeing a potential increase in airline carriers using the regional facility.
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Representatives from all levels of government turned the sod at Bendigo Airport on Wednesday morning kicking off works to expand the terminal and install a new business park.
Works will include new departure and waiting lounges, expanded car parking facilities, a security screening area, a baggage claim, an expanded cafe and restroom facilities.
The business park development will include 21 lots connected to drainage, sewer and water services, roadworks and new car park. Lighting and landscaping will also be improved at the site.
City of Greater Bendigo chief executive Craig Niemann said the project has been a long-held priority for council.
"It was really important that we decided to stay here and develop this site," he said. "It's a pretty significant increase in the scale of the building.
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"We're fortunate to have a building here but this expansion will create an opportunity for many more flights, many more people, security if we need it or when we need it.
"It has been a long time. I've been here 15 years and (developing the airport) was a priority when I arrived."
The development comes after the airport's runway was upgraded in 2017, this schedule of works is due to be the final piece of the jigsaw.
"We acquired land to the north. We had to do a lot of things to enable the opportunity for the the runway to be built," Mr Niemann said.
New terminal opens further flight possibilities
The upgrade will open the doors for more airline carriers and routes to be introduced into Bendigo.
Mr Niemann said Qantas has been happy with the success of its Bendigo route and discussions about new routes had be raised.
"We've had further conversations with them already about Adelaide, southeast Queensland, whether that's the Gold Coast or Brisbane," he said.
"We have actually mentioned Canberra, and whether there's an opportunity to fly in and out of Canberra on specific occasions."
For Mr Niemann, it's about creating the opportunity for people to get in and out of Bendigo.
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Bendigo was one of the first flights Qantas put back on once covid-restrictions to travel were lifted.
For Bendigo MP Lisa Chesters, the routes popularity suggests it's critical residents had travel options beyond Sydney.
"It's absolutely possible with the expanded terminal that you could have multiple airlines traveling here," she said.
"It's about who has the interest and that's where the city will enter a really exciting phase now this project has started."
"We know that it is a popular airline and a popular route for people to travel."
Victorian Regional Development Minister Harriet Shing said she was looking forward to the results of the airport expansion.
"We know there is a significant level of interest from airline carriers to expand the services they are providing domestically," she said.
"We know visitor numbers are expected to move from around 2500 per month to over 16,000 per month by 2030. This is a huge expansion."
Three levels of government combine for Bendigo Airport upgrade
The Bendigo Airport upgrade is funded by each of the three levels of government.
Federally $4.5 million was committed alongside $4.5 million from state government and $985,000 from the council.
Mr Niemann said the project would not be possible without the input from the state and federal governments.
"We've got to spread our projects and services across the whole community," he said. "It's really important to get the state money particularly and then the federal money behind that.
"It's fantastic the three levels of government are working together to deliver good projects for our region."
Federal funding was guaranteed in January when the former government announced the $4.5 million investment the same day as Labor committed funds if it won the federal election.
Mr Chesters said the project becoming bi-partisan meant faster progress could be made.
"In the end, the project became bipartisan at that federal level," she said.
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"I really want to acknowledge the patience of the state government in waiting for the federal government to come on board and the advocacy of the City of Greater Bendigo and local businesses and organisations who have fought for this for years.
"We were all here back in January when Labor first committed to it, within hours the former government committed to it.
"But what's more important is the contracts were signed prior to the federal election so the money was able to flow and that's why we could be here so soon."
This project means a lot to lots of people.
- Lisa Chesters
The project could result more than 15,000 visitors coming through Bendigo Airport each month by 2030.
"This is part of a long standing commitment we have to building infrastructure and working across different levels of government to achieve the best possible outcomes to manage population growth to improve our visitor economies and to assist business and industry to grow," Ms Shing said.
"This is a further $4.5 million investment from the state government since 2017. There's been well over $9 million committed to this project - not just the runway expansion but now the facilities upgrades here."
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