The City of Ballarat received a $5 million grant from the federal Regional Airports Program for the mooted project in early 2020, conditional on that amount being matched dollar-for-dollar by council.

The project includes lengthening and strengthening the current landing strip to 1800m, and providing a new taxiway.

However, The Courier understands the project may run to over three times that $10 million amount, with estimates of costs in excess of between $32 million and $37 million.

That cost does not include the lengthening of BWEZ's Liberator Drive to the south to provide new airport access, as the project proposes a re-extension of the existing North-South runway to its World War II length, requiring the closing and resumption of Airport Road.

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Depending on the level of construction, that new road could cost between $2 million and $12 million, says City of Ballarat's director of development and growth Natalie Robertson, and is not controlled by the City of Ballarat.

"The grant funding from the Regional Airports Program is contingent on being able to demonstrate delivery of an access road that does not use any funding from the grant money or contribution," Ms Robertson said.

"The total build, which includes lengthening of the runway, strengthening of the existing runway, and providing a taxiway suitable for the extension, is in excess of $32 million. That excludes the delivery of the access road."

Mayor Daniel Moloney said the briefing and subsequent council meetings about the future of the proposal are necessary to prevent unwarranted cost overruns for ratepayers.

"We, all the councillors, want to understand what our full exposure might be, so we are not caught in a project that isn't fully costed and transparent," Cr Moloney told The Courier.

"There has to be a business case; this can't go ahead without council considering its exposure to a number of factors here. We get nervous if a project isn't properly staged and costed, understandably."

Cr Moloney said the City of Ballarat had approached the state government regarding the extension which was confirmed by a government spokeswoman.

"Development Victoria, which owns the BWEZ project and land adjacent to the Airport, is currently in discussions with Council about different options for airport access as part of the proposed future redevelopment, with one of those options the potential extension of Liberator Drive within the BWEZ project," the spokeswoman said.

"We understand Council is looking at costs and potential design for the extension of Liberator Drive."

The Courier understands other considerations for the project include extensive drainage works at the airport, landing fees and rental costs.

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