Aurecon named engineer for US$3.4B Sydney airport

Engineering, design planning and management firm Aurecon, based in Australia, has been appointed to provide the terminal precinct engineering design for the new AU$5.3billion (US$3.4 billion) airport in Sydney, Australia.

The terminal building will be designed by an architectural team consisting of London-based Zaha Hadid Architects and Cox Architecture in Sydney.

Aurecon was selected through a competitive tender process to oversee engineering of the terminal precinct, which includes the development of a reference design and technical advisory support for the terminal building, aircraft apron, public car parks and roads.

The new airport is to named Nancy-Bird Walton Airport after the Australian pilot, nicknamed “The angel of the Outback”, who founded the Australian Women Pilots’ Association.

Brett Reiss, Aurecon team leader, said, “We are not just engineers, we are approaching this project with a user-centred design approach to ensure that the project provides a great passenger experience.”

Aurecon, in a joint venture with Arcadis, has also been selected by Australia-based construction partners Lendlease and CPB Contractors to carry out the major earthworks and design of the airfield.

Major earthworks are planned to start early next year at the 1,780-hectare airport site at Badgerys Creek, about 50km west of Sydney’s central business district.

Aurecon’s global head of aviation, Stephen Symons, said that while the airport would initially handle up to 10 million passengers annually, the terminal is being built to facilitate a modular expansion to accommodate a capacity of up 82 million passengers each year by around 2060.