Tenders for design consultants have opened for the Ballarat airport upgrade's first stage, but a key part is still not funded.
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The federal government allocated the City of Ballarat $5 million for runway extension works in 2020, with that funding to be matched by council.
The runway extension is the first part of a three-stage process to modernise the Ballarat airport and encourage new investment, as well as bring heavier aircraft to the city for emergency services, freight, and potentially passengers.
However, the current runway goes straight across Airport Access Road, which will have to be closed - Liberator Drive, which runs through the Ballarat West Employment Zone and connects to the Ballarat Link Road, will have to be extended in a loop to the south of the planned runway extension.
Tenders went out this week for design consultants on the first stage - the second stage will involve upgrading the weight limits on the runway, and the third building new taxiways - but funding has still not been secured for the access road extension.
An approximate map of BWEZ - the Liberator Drive extension proposed is in white
BWEZ is a joint Development Victoria and council project, with Development Victoria "continuing to work with" council on the road's extension - the airport upgrades are council's jurisdiction.
DV's property development group head Penny Forrest said in a statement all options are being looked at.
"Development Victoria is currently in discussions with the City of Ballarat regarding airport access as part of the airport's future redevelopment, with one of those options including the potential extension of Liberator Drive within the BWEZ project," she said.
"We will continue to work with Council to look at all options for Liberator Drive within the BWEZ project, and we are currently working with a consultant to scope various designs and costs."
City of Ballarat chief executive Evan King said the airport upgrade is a "multi-generational project".
"It's not unusual for large infrastructure projects to require a range of things to happen to deliver the ultimate outcome in the end," he said.
"It's all just a domino process - Liberator Drive needs to be built, then we can do the extension, then stage two of BWEZ progresses with those blocks that abut the airport, and then we need to put in place a skill-based board to look at future opportunities, which include the strengthening of runway, taxiways, and the upgrades of terminals.
"But we need to crawl before we walk."
Council is still going through negotiations with the federal government after formally approving the funding required, he added, and while it's not "use it or lose it", council did have to agree to a timeline to accept it.
"We're in the process of developing a funding agreement with feds on funding, in that agreement we'll develop a timeline that obviously takes into account the building of Liberator Drive," Mr King said.
"It's taxpayer's money in the end, if we're not going to use it in an appropriate timeframe, they'll want to reallocate it, so we have to be clear we're developing a plan.
"We're not asking for something additional, all we're asking for is construction to be brought forward to facilitate the extension of the runway, and we're working closely with DV around how that happens."
Tender documents state the first stage, including the road extension, is expected to be finished by April 2023.
It states the estimated total cost of the first stage is $13 million, and the full cost for all three stages is $32 million.
"The state of the primary runway is identified as a major weakness limiting future growth in aviation and commercial activities," the documents state.
"Therefore, upgrading the runway could expand airport operations and stimulate significant economic activity for the region."
The Committee for Ballarat's chief executive, Michael Poulton, said the combination of the airport's location and the potential at the BWEZ site - greenfield commercial and industrial land and highway, rail, and air connections - meant more than $20 million could be unlocked for the regional economy.
"The Liberator Drive project was always seen as part of the BWEZ masterplan, it's right that we progress with the masterplan and seek funding and support for Liberator Drive," he said.
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"Road rail air coming together - that's the uniqueness of BWEZ and our model, (and) whether commercial passenger traffic (is viable) will be determined by the market.
"There are other opportunities, including freight that can be used with infrastructure we have, with road and rail."
Tenders close October 6.
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