Business Case for the SunShine CoaSt airport Master Plan

Stage 2 and 3: Problem Identification and Problem Assessment
Outline the ‘drivers of change’ that are likely to have the greatest impact on the
relevant infrastructure network(s).
Population Growth
The Sunshine Coast region is expected to outperform other regions and the national
average in population growth rate in coming years, with the population projected to
grow by a further 70 per cent to 500,000 people by 2031.
To manage the social, economic and environmental impacts created by this relatively
high growth, investments from all levels of government will be required.
Transport and accessibility are currently the most critical infrastructure issues on the
Sunshine Coast. Rapid and sustained growth over the last 20 years has seen a
growing but as yet unmet demand, for transport infrastructure.
The Sunshine Coast is heavily dependent upon private motor vehicles to commute
around the Coast and to and from Brisbane. Public transport options are very limited,
with only one per cent of trips being made by public transport. The Sunshine Coasts
most urgent strategic need, therefore, is the provision of infrastructure to minimise the
demand for road travel by private vehicles.
This need aligns with Infrastructure Australias key goal to:
Problem
identification:
Future
scenarios
“Transform our cities: improve the efficiency and sustainability of our cities by
increasing public transport capacity in our cities and making better use of existing
transport infrastructure”.
Without the continued provision of airline RPT services to the Sunshine Coast, an
even greater reliance upon private motor vehicles to access the region will develop.
Technology changes
The airport is currently constrained in the amount and type of industries that can be
attracted to this port from an aviation perspective as the larger aircraft cannot be
accommodated on the current runway. The new east-west runway 13/31 is expected
to provide greater opportunity.
It is unsure if the A321 and the 737-900 (new generation aircraft) will be serviceable
at all from this runway size and length. These are expected to become more
prominent in Australian aircraft fleets.
Passenger demand
A thorough study of the SCA and its anticipated traffic growth was commissioned and
undertaken by TFI and published in August 2009. The study examined several
different scenarios for traffic growth.
The TFI study concluded passenger movements would increase from approximately
912,000 passengers in 2008/09 to between 2.1 million and 2.8 million by 2029/30.
The TFI figures show that the SCA must prepare for a steady and rapid growth rate in
passenger levels in coming years. In fact, when compared to other airports around
Australia, the Sunshine Coast is among the fastest growing airports in the country.
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