Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) and Skyway, a joint venture between BMD Constructions and CPB Contractors (a member of the CIMIC Group), are today celebrating the practical completion of Brisbane’s new runway.

BAC CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said while today marked the end of the project, it was just the beginning for Brisbane Airport. “In many respects this runway is symbolic of the very firm belief we have that aircraft will, in the not too distant future, return to the skies and our terminals will once again be full of happy people looking forward to visiting their families, their holidays or to travel to do business,” he said. “Today is a culmination of eight years of physical construction, many years before that in planning, and foresight from nearly half a century ago for an airport with the growth capacity to meet the aspirations of the city and the state”.

“This new runway is so much more than asphalt; it is an enabler for recovery and growth across all facets of business, with an estimated 7,800 new jobs created by 2035 and an additional five billion dollars in annual economic benefit to the region” he said.

With practical completion now achieved, the detailed commissioning process for the new runway will continue as part of the wider Operational Readiness and Testing (ORAT) programme. The new runway will open on 12 July 2020.