State views airport upgrade case

The business case for a multi- million dollar upgrade of Busselton Regional Airport has finally reached State Government hands.

Regional Development Minister Terry Redman confirmed the document had been submitted to his department for evaluation.

It is a major step forward for the project.

The South West Development Commission had been working on the business case since 2012 in a bid to attract about $60 million to fund upgrades to enable interstate and international flights.

Mr Redman will meet City of Busselton representatives during a visit to the South West next month, when it is expected the airport will be discussed.

“As the business case is still being assessed it would be premature to comment on it at this time, ” he said.

“However, the airport expansion has been identified as a priority in the draft South West Regional Investment Blueprint and has strong community and industry support.” Vasse MLA Troy Buswell said the business case was developed from a “robust Government framework” and he was confident it would justify a funding injection.

“I’ve met with the City in relation to this and we have a clear focus that the next major State Government investment not only in the City of Busselton, but also in the South West, needs to be the Busselton Regional Airport, ” he said.

“One of the reasons funding for the airport should be secured is it would be a key provider of economic industries, not just tourism but a whole other range of industries.”

Busselton Mayor Ian Stubbs said the situation was “looking favourable” and he hoped the business case would soon reach the Cabinet for consideration.

Cr Stubbs said he was happy to wait for the State Government process to take its course.

“I don’t think its frustrating going through the Government process, ” he said.

“We’re in the home stretch.”

Cr Stubbs said the council was not looking to direct any substantial sums of money into the pro- ject.

“We believe it’s a regional project and we are hopeful the State will provide all funding to upgrade the airport, ” he said.

Department of Regional Development acting director-general Mike Rowe said the department had begun its due diligence ass- essment of the business case and a recommendation would be presented to the minister in due course.

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