Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017

 
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Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
Liverpool: the Gateway
to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
Liverpool City Council
November 2017

                         www.pwc.com.au
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
Contents
Foreword                                                     3

Executive summary                                            4

1      Introduction                                         8

2      The Badgerys Creek aerotropolis                      10

3      Key opportunities                                    16

4      What needs to happen                                 26

Appendix A Abbreviations                                    41

Appendix B Examples of successful overseas aerotropolises   42

ii | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
Foreword

Unique is an overused word. But,         That is why we commissioned PwC           creation of an aerotropolis. Many will
with an international airport being      to prepare this report on the             be entirely new players in our region;
built entirely in our backyard, we can   Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis. The          others, such as defence and market
say with some confidence that no         Aerotropolis is where the full value of   gardening, come with decades and
other council in Australia faces the     the airport will be realised. Land-use    more of experience and history in
same opportunities that lie ahead of     planning and investment will              Liverpool. We can build a great
Liverpool in coming years.               facilitate the creation of a new urban    future on the legacies of the past.
                                         environment built around the airport
For just the building and construction   to speedily connect time-sensitive        But that future is yet to be written.
alone many councils might be             suppliers, manufacturers,                 Initiatives yet to bear fruit will
tempted to pat themselves on the         distributors, and business people to      become the businesses of tomorrow.
back for a job well done. After all,     distant customers, clients, and
11,000 construction jobs on a $5.3       marketplaces.                             At Liverpool City Council we stand
billion build will be a major shot in                                              ready to embrace them.
the arm for the Liverpool economy.       Much of that will be built on land in
Throw in associated roadworks and        the Liverpool Local Government
related infrastructure and there is      Area and we stand ready to work
even more reason to feel confident       with Federal and State governments
about the future.                        as a willing partner to help capitalise
                                         on the opportunities – for the benefit
But at Liverpool City Council our        of Liverpool but also for Western
view has always been that the            Sydney generally.
airport is just the start.
                                         This PwC report builds on A Western
If we are to settle for an airport and   Sydney Aerotropolis, a study written
nothing more, then 40 years of           by the renowned aviation and
talking and studies, of reports and      aerotropolis expert John Kasarda.
meetings, of lobbying and
community engagement will have           This report shines a light on some of
been in vain.                            the specific industries which most
                                                                                   Wendy Waller
                                         readily stand to benefit from the
                                                                                   Liverpool City Council Mayor

                                                                                                                  PwC | 3
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
Executive summary

Western Sydney Airport (WSA) is a              hubs through the successful               (now the third largest in Australia),
once-in-many-generations                       implementation of this strategy,          Sydney’s overall position as
opportunity for Western Sydney.                demonstrating the mutually                Australia’s most populous city and
                                               reinforcing benefits generated by an      largest international trade hub, and
Rather than simply being a place               airport and the development of its        increasing capacity constraints at
that planes land, it is reasonable for         surrounding areas (see Appendix B).       Kingsford Smith Airport (KSA).
WSA to be the centrepiece of a
holistic development at the airport                                                      It is expected that slots at KSA will
and in its surrounds, to maximise              One of Australia’s                        be fully allocated by around 2030.
the economic and social benefits that
the airport can provide.
                                               most significant                          The WSA site on the other hand will
                                                                                         have the flexibility for further

With the right planning and
                                               airports                                  expansion in response to passenger
                                                                                         demand over time. Within 50 years
investment, there is the potential for         Success begins with the airport itself.   it is expected to accommodate 82
an ‘aerotropolis’ to form around               WSA is positioned to become far           million passenger movements per
WSA: a metropolitan sub-region                 more than an ‘overflow’ airport that      year; double the number that KSA
whose infrastructure, land use and             only services the low-cost leisure        does today and more than Heathrow
                                               market. Its 24-hour operations will:      Airport in London.
economy are centred on an airport.’1
                                               ensure that WSA quickly becomes a
                                               nationally significant airfreight hub;    A new, greenfield international
A number of international airports             and attract full-service airlines
have realised the compounding                                                            airport in a developed city is rare.
                                               looking to capitalise on the need of      WSA has the enviable opportunity to
benefits of creating developments to           business travellers for more
house aviation-enabled businesses                                                        leap-frog efforts of its peers to
                                               convenient overnight connections to       improve the sustainability of
such as logistics and distribution,            Asia and beyond.
manufacturing, hotels, conference                                                        operations and develop a smart
venues in one discrete area. Incheon                                                     aerotropolis that is consistent with
                                               Over time, the airport will become        21st century practice.
Airport in Seoul and Dallas
                                               one of Australia’s most significant
Fortworth International Airport in
                                               airports, driven by Western Sydney’s
Texas have become major economic
                                               population and growing economy

1   John Kasarda 2015, A Western Sydney
    Aerotropolis: Maximising the benefits of
    Badgerys Creek, p.9

4 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
Executive summary

Key opportunities
One of WSA’s most significant advantages is that it will be curfew-free. The possibility for 24-hour connectivity to
domestic and international markets opens up the opportunity to attract a number of sectors to locate around WSA.
The most promising sectors identified in this report are not only those that will be enhanced by proximity to WSA but
are those already poised for growth.

          Logistics and                       Food manufacturing                              Medical
          distribution                            and export                                technologies
  Creating a logistics hub around        Overseas demand for                     An emerging health and
   WSA would support Australia’s           Australian perishable foods is           education precinct in Liverpool
   growing airfreight task –               the greatest driver of outbound          has ambitions to become a hub
   expected to double by 2030 –            airfreight. Creating a food hub          for the development of health-
   and enable greater productivity         near the airport to cluster              related technology. The
   and competitiveness within the          advanced food-manufacturing,             precincts core advantages, such
   logistics sector itself.                value-add processing, cold-              as the presence of Liverpool’s
                                           storage and packing, offers              leading health and education
                                           both better connectivity into            institutions, will be further
                                           premium markets and closer               enhanced by the additional
                                           proximity to other parts of              connectivity to domestic and
                                           what can be a sensitive supply           overseas suppliers and markets
                                           chain.                                   provided by WSA and the rail
                                                                                    and road network being
                                                                                    developed to support it.

                               Defence and                               Tourism
                                aerospace
                      The NSW Department of                  WSA is expected to provide a
                       Industry is looking to establish        significant boost to Western
                       a defence and aerospace hub at          Sydney’s visitor economy. New
                       WSA to support the growth of            attractions and a focus on
                       industry; an objective of both          developing Western Sydney’s
                       the NSW and Commonwealth                supply and quality of
                       Governments. The NSW                    accommodation will help to
                       Government has secured the              ensure that flows of passengers
                       commitment of its first anchor          through WSA translate into
                       tenant: the global defence              greater overnight stays.
                       company Northrup Grumman.

                                                                                                               PwC | 5
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
Executive summary

Liverpool’s role as the leading edge city
The surrounding ‘edge cities’ of            Leveraging these advantages,               residential development around
Liverpool, Penrith, Fairfield,              Liverpool has the opportunity to be         WSA does not compromise and
Campbelltown and Camden have key            the:                                        constrain WSA’s ongoing capacity
roles to play in helping to support                                                     to be a 24-hour airport.
the growth of the aerotropolis as            CBD or the main ‘edge city’ of the
                                                                                        Conversely, the Liverpool City
they offer centres of economic                aerotropolis, where airport-
                                                                                        Council will need to have a say in
activity not in existence around the          related businesses set up their
                                                                                        how the airport operates as a
airport site.                                 Western Sydney (or even Sydney)
                                                                                        ‘good neighbour’, to ensure its
                                              offices/headquarters. That WSA
The land in and around Badgerys                                                         residents are sufficiently
                                              Co has already done this provides
Creek is primarily of rural-                                                            protected from any adverse
                                              confidence for others to follow
residential use. While industrial                                                       impacts of WSA’s operations and
development is expected to form              place to stay for incoming tourists       industrial activity around it
around the airport early on, it is            and business people. While there
                                                                                       businesses are given the
likely that for some time this won’t          may be a number of transit hotels
                                                                                        confidence, and incentivised
be supported by other commercial              that set up near (or at WSA),
                                                                                        where appropriate, to locate to
activity characteristic of a fully-           Badgerys Creek is sufficiently
                                                                                        the aerotropolis early on. To
fledged aerotropolis, such as                 remote that travellers will be
                                                                                        assist this, the Council should:
professional and administrative               more inclined to stay somewhere
services, retail and accommodation.           like Liverpool that’s closer to            – advocate and support the
This provides a vacuum that the edge          other amenities.                             development of targeted
cities can and should fill – none                                                          government incentives, such
                                            Liverpool City Council has an
more so than Liverpool.                                                                    as a ‘virtual investment
                                            important role in supporting WSA
                                                                                           attraction mechanism’ to
The importance of Liverpool is              and the aerotropolis. Given that the
                                                                                           attract to the aerotropolis new
evident in the following features of        airport site and a large portion of the
                                                                                           investment in targeted
the city (see Figure 1) — it:               Western Sydney Airport Priority
                                                                                           industries
                                            Growth Area (WSA-PGA) falls within
 offers the largest commercial hub         its Local Government Area (LGA),             – establish a business forum to
  of the edge cities around WSA. It         the Council will influence the nature          provide a bond between
  has a defined central business            of development around the airport as           Council and aerotropolis
  district (CBD), with great                a regulator of land use and as the             businesses, and to provide
  potential to add to its existing          State Government’s and WSA Co’s                greater confidence for
  stock of commercial and office            key council partner.                           potential investors
  spaces
                                            To ensure the success of the               the Liverpool CBD and George’s
 is well-situated roughly midway           aerotropolis and that Liverpool can         River precincts are enhanced to
  between WSA and the Sydney                unlock the opportunities WSA                ensure that Liverpool is perceived
  CBD, offering an obvious hub              provides, Liverpool City Council            as great place to live, visit, work
  from which business and people            needs to ensure that:                       and play. Sustainability principles
  can access the city and the airport                                                   should be an embedded
                                             it advocates for good rail and
                                                                                        characteristic in this and all
 is also situated at roughly the             road connectivity between the
                                                                                        development
  midpoint between WSA and the                airport and Liverpool, and
  existing KSA, potentially offering          between Liverpool and the                residents are skilled for the jobs
  a convenient base from which                Sydney CBD. New rail                      of the future that will accompany
  companies can maintain freight              connections are a priority,               the development of the
  operations across the two airports          although stations on the lines can        aerotropolis.
                                              be developed over time as
 already has a diverse mix of                needed, rather than as an initial       If implemented, these actions will
  strong industries including                 investment                              increase the likelihood that WSA is
  manufacturing, health, education                                                    itself a success and that the broader
  and public administration (see             the land around WSA is protected        potential benefits of an aerotropolis
  Figure 17), and a young, well-              and developed to promote the            are also realised.
  educated, ethnically diverse-               new industries setting up around
  population.                                 it

6 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
Executive summary

Figure 1 Liverpool’s position in the aerotropolis

Source: PwC, based on 2016 LGA boundaries published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Darker-shaded areas correspond to higher
total economic output.

                                                                                                                                    PwC | 7
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
1 Introduction

                                                            commence in 2018, with Stage 1                        connectivity of Australian industry to
A second airport                                            completed by 2026.                                    global markets.
for Sydney                                                  WSA will become one of Australia’s                    On opening in 2026, WSA will have
After decades of deliberations over                         most significant pieces of                            a single runway around 3.7
the need and potential location of a                        infrastructure. More than just                        kilometres in length. This is long
second Sydney airport, a decision                           meeting Sydney’s growing passenger                    enough to handle the full range of
was made in April 2014 to locate                            demand, WSA will improve access to                    aircraft expected to operate from the
WSA at Badgerys Creek.                                      aviation services for Western                         airport, including the Airbus A380.
Construction is expected to                                 Sydney’s population and improve                       Figure 2 sets out WSA’s forecasted
                                                                                                                  passenger numbers over time.

Figure 2: WSA forecasted annual passenger use

                  2026                                  Around 2031                                     By 2050                           By 2064

    Five million passengers –                 10 million passengers                       37 million passengers              82 million passengers a
    about the number that                                                                 annually, triggering the           year, making it as large as
    use Gold Coast airport                                                                need for a second parallel         Heathrow Airport and Los
    each year                                                                             runway                             Angeles International
                                                                                                                             Airport today.2
Source: Commonwealth of Australia, Western Sydney Airport: Airport Plan

The airport is expected initially to                        WSA is expected to provide                            infrastructure and business
cater predominantly for the low-cost                        significant economic benefits, with                   investment will in turn open up
leisure market, with some full-                             11,000 direct jobs generated by its                   further commercial and residential
service domestic and international                          construction, 28,000 direct and                       development opportunities in the
carriers operating there. This profile                      indirect jobs created by the early                    areas around the airport.
will shift over time with increasing                        2030s and nearly 120,000 in the
demand for different aviation                               long term. 3                                          With the right combination of
services from Western Sydney’s                                                                                    investment and planning outcomes
growing population and as Sydney                            It will also be the cornerstone for                   there is the potential for an
Airport becomes increasingly                                further investment in transport                       ‘aerotropolis’ to form: a metropolitan
capacity constrained. Airfreight is                         infrastructure to enable accessibility                sub-region whose infrastructure,
expected to be a key part of the                            to the airport from within the region                 land use and economy are centred on
airport’s operations.                                       and the rest of Sydney. The                           an airport.’4
                                                            confluence of additional transport

2    Heathrow Airport’s current annual passenger numbers are approximately 75 million. Los Angeles International Airport’s are approximately 81 million.
3    Commonwealth of Australia 2017, Jobs for Western Sydney: Building Western Sydney Airport, p.2
4    John Kasarda 2015, A Western Sydney Aerotropolis: Maximising the benefits of Badgerys Creek, p.9

8 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
Executive summary

About this report
The objective of this report is to      and how these can be maximised.         Chapter 4 — the key factors on
explore what is required to unlock      The report is structured as follows:     which the success of the
the economic potential of WSA and                                                aerotropolis depends.
drive the development of an              Chapter 2 — a brief description of
aerotropolis around the airport. In                                             Chapter 5 — the role of Liverpool
                                          the aerotropolis concept and the
doing so, we have looked at the                                                  City Council in influencing the
                                          vision for one in Western Sydney.
existing advantages of the region                                                success of an aerotropolis and
surrounding the airport, with a focus    Chapter 3 — the key                    maximising the benefits of the
on the Liverpool LGA where                opportunities that may arise from      airport for its residents.
relevant, as well as the additional       the airport and the development
opportunities created by the airport      of an aerotropolis and what is
                                          needed to seize them.

                                                                                                            PwC | 9
Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney's Aerotropolis - Liverpool City Council November 2017
2 The Badgerys Creek
  aerotropolis

There are great hopes for what the                  The aerotropolis concept, or ‘airport          NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian,
new airport will achieve for Western                city’, is defined by John Kasarda as:          has stated that:
Sydney; it is often referred to as a                ‘an urban form whereby cities are
‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’ to               built around airports, speedily
transform the region.                               connecting time-sensitive suppliers,               We want Western Sydney
                                                    manufacturers, distributors and                    Airport to be about much
Many airports around the world                      business people to distant                         more than just building an
exist on the periphery of cities,                   customers, clients and                             airport – we want it to be
reflecting traditional approaches to                marketplaces’.5 Kasarda also defines
                                                                                                       a fully integrated
airport planning and development.                   the aerotropolis more generally as ‘a
And while these traditional airports                metropolitan subregion whose                       economic precinct that
stimulate economic productivity at a                infrastructure, land use and                       will deliver jobs and
state and national level, there is no               economy are centred on an airport’.6               opportunities for the
guarantee of more localised benefit.                                                                   people of Western Sydney
                                                    The aerotropolis concept hinges on                 and across NSW.”
Distance from existing economic                     the idea that mutually reinforcing
centres can mean airports operate in                benefits can be generated by a                 Similarly, the Greater Sydney
isolation without fostering a great                 successful airport and the                     Commission envisages a third
deal of additional activity around                  development of the areas
                                                                                                   Western city (after Eastern Sydney
them. Opportunities are therefore                   surrounding it. To be viable, airports         and Parramatta) with the airport
limited for local residents who may                 must be close to a strong regional
                                                                                                   being a key driver of development.
already be in a disadvantaged                       economy whose population will use
position with a clustering of low-cost              the airport. Equally, the airport also
                                                                                                   To help unlock the economic
housing in areas exposed to high                    provides new opportunities to grow
                                                                                                   potential of the airport, the State
levels of noise, such as those near                 that economy through airport-
                                                                                                   Government is building significant
airports.                                           related employment, support
                                                                                                   transport infrastructure and is
                                                    industries and opening doors to
                                                                                                   aiming to facilitate additional
This is a second-best outcome that                  other sectors that benefit from
                                                                                                   investment in industrial and
we should all plan to avoid. The aim                enhanced connectivity to other
                                                                                                   residential development in the areas
is to maximise the economic benefits                domestic and international markets.
                                                                                                   surrounding WSA. The forthcoming
in Western Sydney, and the local
                                                                                                   City Deal and designation of the
areas around the airport in                         There is a common ambition across              Western and South West priority
particular, by fostering an                         all levels of government for the new
                                                                                                   growth areas lay the planning policy
‘aerotropolis’.                                     airport to drive the development of            framework to coordinate and
                                                    an aerotropolis. For example, the              optimise this investment.

5   John Kasarda 2017, Aerotropolis, available at   6   John Kasarda 2016, A Western Sydney
    http://www.aerotropolis.com/                        Aerotropolis: Maximising the benefits of
                                                        Badgerys Creek, p.9

10 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
The Badgerys Creek aerotropolis

Vision and viability for the aerotropolis
Figure 3 depicts our vision for the aerotropolis to encompass the geographic radius generally north, east and south of
the airport. This area is made up of different components, beginning with WSA itself, expanding out to the ‘inner
aerotropolis’, and expanding further to the ‘greater aerotropolis’. It is named the ‘Badgerys Creek aerotropolis’ in
reference to its origination.

Figure 3: The Badgerys Creek aerotropolis imagined

                                                                                                               PwC | 11
The Badgerys Creek aerotropolis

The airport                                 near the airport. Employment               Our proposed distancing of
The successful development of a             opportunities arising from the             residential areas at least 5kms from
Badgerys Creek aerotropolis depends         airport and the businesses                 the airport is imprecise but aligns
first and foremost on the airport           establishing around it should attract      roughly with other Australian
itself. Many ‘supplementary’ airports       new residents who want to live near        airports enjoying curfew-free
thrive on capturing overflow demand         work. Growing population density           operations – see Figure 16. Perth
from a city’s main airport as               will in turn open up other                 Airport still operates without a
populations grow. London, for               opportunities for businesses that          curfew despite being less than 2kms
example, has five airports servicing        need to locate where people live.          from residential areas. Proposed re-
different market segments. Others,                                                     zonings near the airport have at
such as Mirabel Airport in Montreal,        We envisage the ‘inner aerotropolis’       times raised concerns about the
Canada and the Ciudad Real Airport          forming within the area                    potential impact on the airport’s
in Madrid, Spain have failed and            approximately 10kms north, east and        ability to operate without a curfew
been abandoned.                             south of the airport site (i.e. that       and Brisbane’s curfew-free status is
                                            roughly aligning with the WSA-             regularly reviewed.
Provided WSA has good connections           PGA). Within this area, the first
with Western Sydney and eventually          5kms around the airport ought to be        The encroachment of residential
the Sydney CBD, 24-hour operations          reserved for industrial or                 areas towards WSA is a scenario that
will position WSA well to attract a         environmental use. A key factor in         government needs to prevent.
good share of passengers, airlines          encouraging industry agglomeration
and dedicated freight carriers (see         around the airport, and therefore          There are countless examples of
Box 1).                                     maximising the economic potential          airports that have been suffocated by
                                            of the airport, will be the availability   the encroachment of residential
                                            of land very close to the airport that     communities around them. For
The ‘inner aerotropolis’                    is suitable for industrial use. Zoning     example, both Heathrow and Los
Provided the right land use strategies      this area for industrial use also acts     Angeles are inhibited by residential
are put in place, the enhanced              as a physical buffer between the           development.
connectivity and efficiency offered by      airport and residential areas, helping
a 24-hour airport also opens up the         to protect its 24-hour operations,
opportunity to attract time-sensitive,      being one of its key competitive
aviation-enabled industries to locate       advantages.

12 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
The Badgerys Creek aerotropolis

Box 1: WSA’s advantage as a connected 24-hour airport

     There is a clear business case for WSA to capture ‘overflow’ from KSA as growing demand outstrips KSA’s capacity.
     WSA Co’s expectations are that during early operations much of passenger demand will come from Western
     Sydney’s growing population and will be served largely by low-cost carriers. Qantas’ CEO, Alan Joyce, has indicated
     the Qantas group its intention to use WSA as a new base for Jetstar. Full-service and international carriers are
     expected to move to the airport over time as KSA reaches capacity, which the Federal Government expects to occur
     between 2042 and 2048.7
     Full-service international airlines could be part of the picture earlier on owing to the airport’s proposed curfew-free
     status and greater slot availability. KSA’s curfew and slot constraints significantly restrict the offering of
     international airlines, particularly those that are Asia-oriented.8 Singapore Airlines for example, one of the largest
     international carriers operating out of Sydney, offers five flights daily from Sydney to Singapore within a 10-hour
     window of 8am to 6pm. A later flight closer to the curfew would arrive in Singapore in the early hours of the
     morning, with very few connections available. A midnight flight from WSA which arrived in Singapore at 6am
     would, on the other hand, be ideal for business travellers, who help fill the front of the plane.
     A useful comparison is curfew-free Melbourne Airport. Although it serves a smaller market and has around
     two-thirds the amount of international passenger movements of KSA, Singapore Airlines offers flights to Singapore
     four to five times daily including a midnight flight which arrives in Singapore at 6am. Indeed, there are over 30
     flights taking off and landing in Melbourne overnight to and from Asia, the Middle East, the US and Europe.9
     Melbourne Airport’s curfew-free status is extremely valuable to the airport, allowing for the movement of an extra
     two million passengers a year and adding $590 million to the Victorian economy through visitor spending.10 In the
     10 years to 2015-16, the number of international passengers through Melbourne Airport doubled, growing far more
     strongly than KSA which has achieved growth of around 45%. Options for a rail link are now being explored and
     the airport is seeking approval to build a third runway.
     More passengers bring additional capacity for airfreight. Approximately 80% of air freight in NSW is carried in the
     cargo holds of domestic and international passenger flights.11 The remainder is carried in dedicated freight aircraft,
     most of which are operated by major passenger airlines.12 KSA is Australia's international air freight hub, with
     around half of Australia’s airfreight being loaded or discharged there.13
     The curfew at KSA, which limits take-off and landing to a small number of aircraft types overnight, significantly
     limits the efficiency and convenience of airfreight services. The curfew has received significant focus in submissions
     to the Australian Government’s Inquiry into National Freight and Supply Chain Priorities.14 Submissions note the
     inefficiency the curfew has created in the domestic airfreight network, where a Boeing 737 is able to operate
     overnight freight flights to other airports, but not to Sydney – meaning unloading and reloading to a different
     aircraft to reach Sydney.
     Despite Sydney being a national airfreight hub, Melbourne’s 24-hour operations mean it can now claim it is the top
     export market with 36% market share.15 With Amazon setting up their first Australian fulfilment centre in
     suburban Melbourne, there’s likely to be even more domestic and international freight routed through the city.
     Lyell Strambi, Melbourne Airport CEO, attributes the airport’s success to its 24-hour operations: ‘If we're being
     frank that is one of the elements of our success story in recent years.’
     Twenty-four hour operations would provide WSA with the opportunity to seize a large share of the airfreight
     market, which is increasing strongly thanks to growing demand for fast-delivered online shopping and increasingly
     global supply chains.

7     Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Environmental Impact Statement 2016, p.79
8     KSA has cap of 80 aircraft movements per hour.
9     Melbourne Airport, Flight information, available at: http://melbourneairport.com.au/flight-passenger-info/flight-information/schedule-search.html
10    Melbourne Airport, Community & partners, available at: http://melbourneairport.com.au/about-melbourne-airport/melbourne-airport-partners/about-cacg/faqs-
      1389.html
11    Transport for NSW, NSW air network, available at: https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/operations/logistics-network/nsw-air-network
12    Sydney Airport 2017, Re: Inquiry into National Freight and Supply Chain Priorities, available at: https://infrastructure.gov.au/transport/freight/frieght-supply-
      chain-submissions/Sydney_Airport.pdf. Only one of the top five freight routes is operated by a dedicated freighter.
13    NSW Department of Industry, Air logistics and air movements, available at: https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/invest-in-nsw/about-nsw/economic-
      growth/developed-infrastructure/airport-logistics-and-air-movement
14    Commonwealth of Australia 2017, Inquiry into National Freight and Supply Chain Priorities: Discussion Paper – May 2017
15    Australian Pacific Airports Corporation, Annual Report 2015/16

                                                                                                                                                             PwC | 13
The Badgerys Creek aerotropolis

The ‘greater aerotropolis’                              million, is expected to grow by                      is now Australia’s third-largest
The vision described for the inner                      another one million people over                      economy. As shown in Figure 5,
aerotropolis is theoretical, albeit                     the next 20 years, including                         the LGAs around the airport are
based on other successful                               almost 500,000 in the West and                       performing well, led by the
international aerotropolises (see                       South West Districts.16 These                        Liverpool LGA. A strong regional
Appendix B). As illustrated in                          projections indicate the potential                   economy provides the building
Figure 1, economic activity in this                     for strong and growing aviation                      blocks for an aerotropolis,
area at present is low given it                         demand in the future from local                      offering capacity and capability
currently comprises mainly rural-                       areas alone. WSA Co reports that                     from existing industry and a
residential uses.                                       at present Western Sydney’s                          skilled workforce. Businesses
                                                        population accounts for a quarter                    have an incentive to locate in
The ‘greater aerotropolis’ offers the                   of all air passengers. This share is                 areas with access to the largest
economic foundation for the                             expected to grow in line with the                    numbers of potential employees
aerotropolis by providing:                              population. It is estimated that                     and customers. Likewise, people
                                                        local demand alone could                             have incentives to settle where
                                                        contribute an additional 3.4                         they can access the greatest
 A growing population – Western                        million trips at WSA by 2035 and                     number of employment
  Sydney is the fastest growing                                                                              opportunities, goods and services.
                                                        6 million by 2060.17
  region in Greater Sydney. A good                                                                           In the early operations of the
  share of growth in recent years      Strong economic performance –                                        airport, the far greater share of
  has been driven by the LGAs near       in addition to population growth,                                   these factors will exist in the
  the airport site (see Figure 4).       the economic output of Western                                      greater aerotropolis.
  The current population of two          Sydney is growing strongly and it
Figure 4: Population density in FY 2016 and growth (2011-2016) in greater Sydney

Source: PwC, based on 2016 LGA boundaries published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The cities of Liverpool, Penrith,                    are indeed of greatest importance to               populations with the services and
Fairfield, Camden and                                its formation given they offer the                 labour they provide.
Campbelltown will become ‘edge                       closest concentrations of existing
cities’ to the airport as they lie                   infrastructure, industries and                     Liverpool has the opportunity to
beyond the inner aerotropolis but                                                                       position itself as the key edge city or

16   Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet       at https://cities.dpmc.gov.au/western-sydney-   17   John Kasarda 2015, A Western Sydney
     2017, The Western Sydney City Deal, available      city-deal                                            Aerotropolis: Maximising the benefits of
                                                                                                             Badgerys Creek, p.29

14 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
The Badgerys Creek aerotropolis

the ‘CBD’ of the aerotropolis, where    Figure 5: Economic output in FY 2015 for the LGAs proximal to
airport-related businesses set up       Badgerys Creek ($billion)
their Western Sydney (or even
Sydney) offices/headquarters and        9
where incoming tourists and
business people come to stay. That      8
WSA Co has already set up in
Liverpool City should provide the       7
confidence for other businesses to
follow.                                 6

The importance of Liverpool is          5
evident in the city’s following
existing features:
                                        4
 Liverpool City offers the largest     3
  commercial hub of the edge cities
  proximal to WSA. It has a defined
                                        2
  CBD, with good potential to add
  to its existing stock of commercial
  and office spaces.                    1

 It is well-situated midway            0
  between WSA and the Sydney                   Liverpool         Penrith          Fairfield     Campbelltown         Camden
  central business district (CBD),
  offering an obvious hub from          Source: PwC, based on 2016 LGA boundaries published by the Australian Bureau of
  which business and people can         Statistics (ABS).
  access both the city and the
  airport.
 It is also situated at roughly the     It is home to leading-edge anchor                technologies, defence and
  midpoint between WSA and KSA,           institutions who are working                     aerospace.
  potentially offering a convenient       together to forge a health and
                                                                                        Liverpool has a young, well-
  base for companies to maintain          education precinct in Liverpool
                                                                                         educated and ethnically diverse
  freight operations across the two       (see Figure 6). These institutions
                                                                                         population. A significant
  airports.                               will support the skills
                                                                                         proportion of the population is
                                          development of the region’s local
 Liverpool already has a diverse                                                        under 30 and there are more
                                          workforce, as well as providing
  mix of strong industries including                                                     families with children compared
                                          R&D capacity to support the
  manufacturing, health, education                                                       to the rest of Sydney.
                                          development of new sectors such
  and public administration.              as food manufacturing, medical

Figure 6: Liverpool health and education precinct

                                                                                                                          PwC | 15
3 Key opportunities

3.1 Key sectoral                                 Incheon Airport continues to                  airfreight at WSA, generate
                                                  expand its logistics centres, to              significant employment
    opportunities                                 secure its position as the world’s            opportunities and would facilitate
This section explores the key sectoral            second-biggest cargo hub.                     improvements in productivity and
opportunities for the aerotropolis.                                                             competitiveness within the logistics
These include those that are most                Dallas Fort Worth Airport also                sector itself. As an example of the
likely to benefit from close proximity            has significant logistics facilities,         potential employment opportunities,
to a 24-hour airport, as well as those            enabling its position as the                  Melbourne Airport and the site
sectors whose operations aren’t as                leading cargo airport in Texas. Its           around it is now one of the biggest
closely linked to aviation but are                International Commerce Park                   employment clusters outside of
well-positioned to build on existing              provides over 3.000 jobs and is               Melbourne’s CBD. It is estimated
or proposed investments in the                    estimated to generate economic                that of the 14,300 jobs directly
region and will also benefit from                 contributions of approximately                generated by the airport precinct,
more timely receipt of airfreighted               $329 million to the DFW                       around one-quarter are related to
equipment and suppliers.                          region.18                                     non-aviation activities such as
                                                 Melbourne Airport’s Business                  logistics and distribution.
These are sectors that, regardless of             Park, south west of the airport,
WSA, are poised for growth in NSW.                was created with the aim to                   WSA plans include a business park,
                                                  become a world-class logistics                although details of its composition
3.1.1 Logistics, distribution                     hub. To date, 77 hectares have                are yet to be defined. The
                                                  been developed for some of the                Commonwealth Government has
      and freight forwarders
                                                  world’s largest logistics                     suggested that it will house
As a 24-hour airport that can                                                                   substantial office-based employment
support Australia’s growing                       companies.
                                                                                                across a range of industries such as
airfreight, WSA is primed to attract            Despite KSA being Australia’s                   wholesale trade, IT and media
complementary logistics and                     international airfreight hub, a lack of         services, retail, financial services,
distributions businesses to locate              appropriate and affordable land                 education and training, as well as the
around it. Indeed, there should be              options around the airport has                  manufacturing industry. This
government support to create a                  resulted in major logistics companies           suggests that an additional dedicated
major logistics hub adjacent to WSA.            being scattered across the city                 facility should be planned for
                                                without any concentration in a                  logistics operators either on the
The economic importance of creating             particular area. Distance from KSA              airport site or adjacent to it.
synergies between airside freight               and increasing congestion around it,
handling and local logistics                    is increasing industry costs and
operators is underlined by the
                                                                                                3.1.2 Advanced food
                                                inefficiency. One of KSA’s strategic
establishment of major logistics hubs           priorities is to work with the                        manufacturing and
at several airports around the world.           Government to find road transport                     exportation
These include two of the best known             solutions to help alleviate the issue.          Amongst the general air freight and
aerotropolis airports, Incheon and                                                              complementary logistics activities
DFW, as well as Melbourne Airport.              With Australia’s airfreight task                expected to flow to WSA, growth in
By creating adjoining logistics                 expected to more than double by                 the transport of food presents a
centres, the following airports have            2030 and a significant share of                 particularly promising opportunity
been able to support and grow cargo             airfreight movements expected to                that should be seized.
operations, and significantly                   occur out of WSA (see Box 1),
enhance the logistics sectors in their          attracting the logistics sector to WSA
respective cities:                              should be a priority.19 Creating a
                                                logistics hub around the airport
                                                would support the further growth of

18   DFW Airport 2017, International Commerce      https://www.dfwairport.com/landhere/commer   19   Department of Infrastructure and Regional
     Park, available at                            cepark/index.php                                  Development 2013, Trends: Infrastructure and
                                                                                                     Transport to 2030

16 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
Key opportunities

Rising overseas demand for                        Indonesia, are driving greater                 items is worth around $20 billion to
Australian food, particularly from                demand for food (see Figure 8). The            the Australian economy, roughly half
Asia, is the key driver of Australia’s            number of middle-class consumers               the value of all food exports.22
growing air freight task. Food                    in the Asia-Pacific region is forecast
represents the largest category of                to grow from 525 million in 2009 to            Perishable foods need fast and direct
exports, in volume, that are air                  approximately 3,228 million by                 transport into overseas markets that
freighted out of Australia. Food                  2030 – an increase of over 500%.20             only airfreight can offer. For
comprised almost 60 per cent of air               In Indonesia alone it is estimated             example, table grapes can be picked,
freight volumes exported out of KSA               that around five million Indonesians           packed and airfreighted to markets
in 2016 (see Figure 7). Providing that            are entering the ‘consuming class’             in Asia within 48-60 hours or sent by
24-hour operations are assured,                   each year.21                                   sea within 16 days.23 As Australian
WSA is expected to attract greater air                                                           food producers are competing in
freight activity by enabling more                 Australian food producers are                  premium markets, the higher margin
efficient access for food producers to            responding to demand with an                   on these perishable goods is able to
overseas markets. Furthermore, as                 increasing share of national food              justify the increased cost involved
food supply chains evolve and                     production going overseas, Asia                with airfreighting them.
become increasingly consolidated,                 being our top food export market. A
there is potential for clustering and             growing preference for healthy,                The strength of demand for such
aggregation of food manufacturing                 premium, convenient foods is also              products is being demonstrated at
and value-add processing to be                    shifting demand towards high value             Toowoomba’s Wellcamp airport.
established near the airport.                     food types like fruit, vegetables,             Cathay Pacific began operating
                                                  meat, dairy and seafood. Asian local           dedicated weekly freight flights into
Growing demand for                                food production cannot meet                    Hong Kong late last year, with goods
Australian perishables                            demand levels and Australia’s food             such as chilled beef and dairy
                                                  comes with a ‘clean, green, safe’              comprising the bulk of the
Growing populations and rising
                                                  brand that is increasingly sought              freight load.
incomes in emerging Asian
                                                  after. Export of these perishable food
economies, such as China, India and

Figure 7: KSA’s outbound airfreight composition

Source: Transport for NSW, NSW Air Network

20   Austrade 2015, Investment opportunities in   21   McKinsey&Company 2016, The Life Journey   22   Austrade 2015, Op cit.
     Australian agribusiness and food                  Indonesia                                 23   Austrade 2015, Op cit.

                                                                                                                               PwC | 17
Key opportunities

Figure 8: Expected ASEAN Agri-food Consumption, 2007 and 2050 forecast (US$bn)

                       Vegetables

                             Fruit

                            Meats

                          Cereals

 Oilseeds and oilseed products

                    Dairy products

                            Sugar                                                                  2050     2007

                                     0                 20                 40                 60                    80

Source: ABARE 2016

Creating a food manufacturing                Figure 9: Paddock to plane – Simplified food supply chain in
and processing hub at                        the aerotropolis
Badgerys Creek
The opportunity for WSA and the
aerotropolis more broadly, doesn’t                                            Food
just come from the diversion of food                                       processing
freight from KSA to WSA, it also
comes from attracting high-value
food manufacturing and processing
to locate near the airport. Perishable
foods are often moved long distances
along sensitive supply chains to
reach international airports just in                                        Packing                   Overseas
                                                   Farmer
time for loading onto aircraft.                                             location                   flight
Australian food producers are
increasingly looking for ways to
concentrate supply chains and
reduce risks and inefficiencies
associated with greater
intermediation.
                                                                                Cold
A dedicated food precinct near the                                             storage
airport could also offer significant
efficiencies to companies, firstly by
cutting down on expensive cold-
chain transportation from final
processing locations to the airport,
but also by offering proximity to, and
collaboration with, other parts of the

18 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
Key opportunities

supply chain such as packing and                       capabilities. DFW Airport for                   Australia has a strong history of food
cold-storage facilities. Figure 9                      example has just added 4,300 square             research and development that has
represents this potential model.                       metres of refrigerated storage space.           fostered cutting-edge farming
                                                       The new facility will assist                    techniques and technologies and a
Any improvements to supply-chain                       distributers and freight forwarders             sophisticated use of biotechnology.
efficiency will be a vital element in                  in the transfer of high-value,                  Australian companies are on the
ensuring the long-term                                 temperature- and time-sensitive                 forefront of research and application
competitiveness of Australia’s food                    products such as pharmaceuticals,               in functional foods, nanotechnology
exports.                                               flowers and fresh foods through the             and new processing technologies.24
                                                       airport and on to DFW’s 180                     Some of these technologies are being
As an example of such investment,                      markets.                                        employed in state-of-the-art facilities
construction is underway on the                                                                        in Sydney’s South West. Freedom
Toowoomba Integrated Milk Project                      Advanced food manufacturing                     Foods, for example, recently set up a
which is strategically located next to                 and value-add processing                        new dairy processing facility in
Wellcamp Airport. The first stage of                                                                   Ingleburn, employing the latest
                                                       Given the desire to attract high-value          advancements in UHT technology to
production at the factory will focus
                                                       sectors to Badgerys Creek, and also             create fresh products that also have a
on infant formula, to be followed by
                                                       renew manufacturing in Western                  longer shelf-life.
development of fresh and UHT milk
                                                       Sydney, advanced food
for domestic and international
                                                       manufacturing and value-add
markets.                                                                                               A testament to the strength of
                                                       processing is an ideal sector to foster
                                                                                                       Australia’s food manufacturing
                                                       and attract to the food hub
Internationally, other airports are                                                                    sector is the level of international
                                                       envisaged. Its activities, which could
also trying to unlock growth                                                                           investment it is attracting (see
                                                       involve machinery and heavy vehicle
opportunities for food exporters by                                                                    Box 2).
                                                       movement, are also compatible with
improving onsite handling
                                                       the operations of a 24-hour airport.

Box 2: International investment in Australian food manufacturing

     Campbell Soup Company
     Campbell Arnott’s, a division of the Campbell Soup Company (USA), has invested more than A$400 million in the
     past decade to upgrade its existing Australian facilities with state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies. One-third
     of this was spent on a new biscuit production line in Brisbane, Queensland, based on Australian design technology,
     with additional funds invested in automating existing production.

     Longley Farm
     British dairy company Longley Farm has invested more than A$100 million in a high-tech milk processing facility
     in Casino, New South Wales, developing a unique export business based on a patented ‘fast-freeze’ technology.
     Under local subsidiary Richmond Dairies, the company is exporting 10-kilogram blocks of high-quality frozen
     cream for use by premium ice-cream manufacturers, patisseries and bakeries in the Middle East, South West Asia
     and Japan. The plant also produces yoghurt concentrate and skim milk powder.

     Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group)
     CP Group, Thailand’s largest private company, is signalling its confidence in Australia’s premium food brand in
     Asia by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Australia’s largest family-owned meat processor, Thomas
     Foods International. The MoU is the first step ahead of the two companies establishing a joint venture to build a
     large-scale advanced food processing centre that will produce ready-made beef and lamb meals for export.

     New Hope Group
     In 2015 the Chinese conglomerate New Hope Group entered into a joint venture (JV) with two of Australia’s
     leading dairy farming groups to establish Australian Fresh Milk Holdings. The JV is focused on expanding its dairy
     product offering across Australia, as well as into China and South East Asia.
Source: Austrade 2015, Investment Opportunities in Australian Agribusiness and Food

24    Examples of new processing technologies             electric field processing – Austrade 2015,
      include irradiation, high-pressure processing,      Investment opportunities in Australian
      low-energy electron beam processing, pulsed         agribusiness and food.

                                                                                                                                      PwC | 19
Key opportunities

As Australia’s agribusiness and food              Key MTP sub-sectors identified by            robotics and advanced materials
industry grows, NSW has the                       the CSIRO include:                           including medical devices,
opportunity to strengthen its                                                                  prosthetics and pharmaceuticals.
position in the industry. Creating a               smart devices, implants and                The precinct is well placed to pursue
food hub at Badgerys Creek for                      bionics                                    this opportunity due to their access
growing, manufacturing, processing                                                             to:
and export preparation offers                      accelerated pharmaceutical
businesses enhanced connectivity                    development                                 technology through university
into regional supply chains and the                manufacturing high-value                     and industry partnerships
potential efficiency benefits of                    pharmaceuticals
industry clustering.                                                                            development funds with
                                                   diagnostics and informatics                  university and industry joint
Such a hub could open up new                        products and services.                       projects
opportunities for existing businesses             Against this backdrop, a health and           the varied population to trial
like the Sydney Markets. The                      education precinct is emerging in              developments
Markets have publicly stated that                 Liverpool, through partnership and
they are analysing the future needs                                                             skilled local labour markets in
                                                  collaboration amongst its leading
of the business, including whether it                                                            manufacturing and health
                                                  health and education institutions
needs to be move to a larger site to              including:                                    proximity to WSA, the
accommodate future growth in its
                                                                                                 Moorebank Intermodal Terminal
operations. Regardless of whether
                                                   South Western Sydney Local                   freight precinct as well as the
this current investigation results in
                                                    Health District                              road and rail network.
the relocation of the existing
Flemington site, a hub at Badgerys                 Liverpool Public Hospital                  Whilst proximity to WSA isn’t a key
Creek could create the opportunity                                                             enabler of a thriving medical
for the Markets to establish ancillary             South West Sydney Primary                  technology sector, it provides the
operations. Proximity to a 24-hour                  Health Network                             additional efficiency benefit of
WSA airport could provide the                      lngham Institute of Applied                reduced ground transport
following opportunities to the                      Medical Research                           requirements when importing or
Markets:                                                                                       exporting equipment or supplies.
                                                   Sydney Business Chamber                    Proximity to the Moorebank
 greater efficiency in the way it                                                             Intermodal Terminal may also
                                                   NSW Health Infrastructure
  imports certain perishables (like                                                            provide greater efficiency for
  fresh flowers and out-of-season                  Liverpool City Council                     interstate distribution.
  produce)                                                                                     Improvements to the road and rail
                                                   TAFE NSW                                   network within the region will also
 expansion of its relatively small                                                            provide more efficient distribution to
  export business                                  University of Wollongong
                                                                                               other health centres in Penrith and
 the ability to act as an aggregator              University of New South Wales              Campbelltown.
  in the food airfreight value chain               Western Sydney University.25
  (i.e. offering packing services,                                                             3.1.4 Defence and aerospace
  cold storage etc.).                             This alliance of organisations is            The NSW Department of Industry
                                                  significant as individually they are         wants to develop a defence and
3.1.3 Medical technologies                        already providing world-class care,          aerospace precinct near the airport,
The CSIRO has identified the                      education and research.                      as part of the State Government’s
opportunity and importance of                                                                  plan to grow the industry in NSW.26
Australia taking a larger share of the            The health and education sector as a
global Medical Technologies and                   whole is growing in Liverpool. There         At a national level, the Australian
Pharmaceuticals (MTP) industry,                   are more than 15,000 health and              Government is focused on increasing
which is expected to grow to almost               knowledge workers in the Liverpool           the home-grown defence industry.
$3 trillion globally by 2025. Growing             LGA, equating to round 20 per cent           The objective of the Government is
Australia’s industry would benefit                of total workers. This proportion is         not just to boost Australia’s own
the economy through the more cost-                expected to increase to 25 per cent          defence capabilities but also to
effective provision of health services,           by 2036.                                     improve the commercialisation of
as well as through the flow-on effects                                                         the industry and the export potential
of a successful industry such as                  The objective is for the precinct to         of companies in the industry.
greater jobs and potential exports.               become a hub for development of
                                                  health-related technology such as

25   See PwC 2017, Reimagining … the Liverpool    26   NSW Government 2017, New South Wales:      Government Defence and Industry Strategy
     Health, Education, Research and Innovation        Strong, smart and connected — The NSW      2017
     Precinct

20 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
Key opportunities

Private defence companies                         The WSA defence and aerospace hub                electronic warfare equipment and
contribute to the production and                  envisaged by the NSW Government                  advanced electronics. Northrop
maintenance of Australia’s aircraft               will seek to attract small, medium               Grumman will also aim to forge
and equipment, but are primarily                  and large businesses specialising in             relationships with universities to
focused on the domestic market with               the manufacture and maintenance of               train highly-skilled technicians:
exports comprising a smaller                      aircraft, equipment and systems.
proportion of sales. Australia ranks              Like the medical technology
as only the 20th largest exporter of              industry, a thriving defence and                     It really makes sense for
defence material. By comparison, the              aerospace industry doesn’t                           us ... we've got this $50
industry relies on a significant                  necessarily rely on proximity to an                  million investment in
amount of imported defence                        airport. Nonetheless, clustering of                  electronics repair
material, making Australia the fifth-             activities near WSA would support                    capability we wanted that
largest importer. Positioning                     the industry’s growth objectives by:
companies to compete on a global                                                                       to be in location that made
stage has the potential to strengthen              providing companies with links to                  sense from a supply chain
the industry overall, by opening up                 new export partners and markets                    point of view, from the
new markets, driving innovation and                                                                    point of view of having
ultimately allowing it to grow.                    enabling better connections
                                                    between prime contractors and                      great workforce
The strategy to grow the industry in                original equipment                                 availability, university
NSW specifically is a logical one. The              manufacturers                                      proximity and that new
defence industry is already at an                  opening up training and skills                     defence industry precinct,
advantage in NSW, with the largest                  development opportunities                          the university precinct out
number of defence bases and                                                                            there at Badgerys Creek
capabilities of any state or territory.            enhancing potential for
Today it employs around 26,500                      collaboration on innovation and                    that's being developed, it
people in NSW, including in many                    research through Liverpool’s                       just seems perfect for us to
regional areas. Its investments and                 universities and other R&D                         be able to do that, so we
expenditure amounted to                             institutions                                       stepped up and said we
$7.9 billion in 2014-15. Defence also                                                                  would be a foundation
                                                   facilitating the maintenance of
positively impacts a wide range of
other industries and has a strong
                                                    operational aircraft                               tenant at that location.” 27
track record of working with                      Creating the precinct hinges on
universities to develop and                       getting the right anchor tenants. The            Other major defence companies are
disseminate technology and develop                NSW Department of Industry has                   needed as tenants and, in some
the workforce required by the                     received the commitment of                       cases, short- to medium-term
industry.                                         Northrop Grunman to build a                      incentives may be needed to induce
                                                  $50 million Electronic Sustainment               key players to locate to Australia and
                                                  Centre of Excellence to support                  the precinct. Such incentives are
                                                                                                   further discussed in Section 4.3.

27   Amelia McMahon, "Western Sydney and RAAF        https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/key-
     Base Richmond to become key facilities for      enablers/901-western-sydney-and-raaf-base-
     prime", 3 July 2017, available at:              richmond-to-become-key-facilities-for-prime

                                                                                                                                 PwC | 21
Key opportunities

3.1.5 Tourism                                  Figure 10: Purpose of visit – visitors to Western Sydney
WSA is expected to provide a
significant boost to Western
                                               Visitors Share 2016 International visitors
Sydney’s visitor economy. Currently,
the dominant purpose for visiting
Western Sydney is to visit family and
relatives or ‘VFR’ (see Figure 10).
The VFR market comprises 45 per                                  4%4%
                                                           8%
cent of international visitors and
almost half of domestic visitors to
Western Sydney, in part a reflection                                                  41%
of the region’s diverse and
multicultural resident population.                                                                     Visitors Share                   2016
The VFR market will continue to be a                                                                   Holiday                          41%
key segment once WSA opens.                                                                            Visiting friends and relatives   45%
However, the opening of the airport                        45%
                                                                                                       Business                          8%
may also increase the share of
international and domestic                                                                             Education                         4%
passengers visiting for the purpose                                                                    Other                             4%
of ‘Holiday’, particularly given WSA
is expected to initially mainly cater
for lower-cost leisure travellers.
                                               Purpose of Visit – Domestic visitors
Whilst many visitors to Sydney come
to enjoy sites around the Sydney
CBD and the eastern suburbs, the
arrival of WSA, coupled with the                                  6%
likely dominance of the VFR market                      18%
will mean there is a good                                                          29%
opportunity for Western Sydney to
capture visitors when they arrive or
before they leave.                                                                                     Visitors Share                   2016
                                                                                                       Holiday                          29%
Growing the overnight visitor                                                                          Visiting friends and relatives   47%
economy                                                                                                Business                         18%
The NSW Government’s Western                                      47%                                  Education                         n.p.
Sydney Visitor Economy Strategy
                                                                                                       Other                             6%
for 2016/17 – 2020/21 (the
‘Strategy’) sets the strategic priorities
for developing tourism in Western              n Holiday   n Visiting friends and relatives     n Business     n Education       n Other
Sydney. A key objective of the
strategy as a whole is to increase the         Source: Destination NSW 2017, Western Sydney Visitor Economy Strategy 2017/18 – 2020/21
proportion of visitors who stay
overnight. Domestic day trips make
up around three-quarters of all visits      natural attractions such as the Blue              While many of these new attractions
but only contribute 22 per cent in          Mountains and World Heritage                      exist outside Liverpool’s LGA, it has
expenditure. Greater numbers of             Areas, as well as visits to the region’s          the opportunity to capitalise on
domestic and international                  new recreational offerings. Major                 growth in visitation by growing its
passengers flowing through Western          developments include:                             accommodation sector. There may
Sydney have the potential to boost                                                            be a number of transit hotels that
overnight stays, if visitors can be          the new Wonderland, now                         eventually set up near or at WSA,
encouraged to make Western Sydney             ‘Worlds of Wonder’, will open in                however Badgerys Creek is
part of their plans. International            Western Sydney in 2021, with the                sufficiently remote that travellers
visitors are particularly beneficial, as      ambition of becoming one of                     (particularly the VFR market) will be
they tend to stay longer and spend            Australia’s top theme parks                     more inclined to stay somewhere
more (see Figure 11).                                                                         that’s close to other amenities and
                                             Sydney’s newest zoo in Blacktown                importantly, close to their friends
This reinforces the importance of            a new water park in Prairiewood                 and relatives.
one of the opportunities identified by        is set to be open in the summer of              Furthermore, while in the short term
the strategy, which is to develop             2017                                            WSA will predominantly cater for
touring routes and packages. Such                                                             the leisure market, its passenger
packages could bundle tours to key                                                            profile will shift over time with an

22 | Liverpool: the Gateway to Sydney’s Aerotropolis
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