AIRPORT ON NEW FLIGHT PATH
Chief scraps $1b redevelopment plan
CAIRNS Airport’s new boss Norris Carter (above) has charted a new course for the busy facility by scrapping its $1 billion redevelopment plans. The revelation comes amid a restructure of the airport’s executive team, which has resulted in the departures of four managers.
CAIRNS Airport has grounded its $1 billion redevelopment plans, with the airport’s chief executive saying there is no need to expand the facility at its current rate of growth.
Airport boss Norris Carter dropped the bombshell announcement yesterday after confirming a restructure of his executive team, which has resulted in the departures of four managers.
He said the privately owned company would now be focusing on its core business of growing airline capacity to ensure the business facilitates economic growth in the Far North.
A master plan for the airport, released two years ago, would have shifted the general aviation sector from its current western side location to east of the main runway, to become an aviation enterprise precinct.
As part of the 20-year vision, a new commercial enterprise precinct was to be developed on the Cook Highway frontage.
But Mr Carter, who took over the management reins from Kevin Brown late last year, told the Weekend Post there was no more need for the redevelopment, particularly the commercial precincts.
“We’re not pushing ahead with big commercial plans over that side of the runway, and we’re not planning to expand into mangroves,” he said. “The land use plan is there, the long term ‘what you could do with the land’, if it’s needed.
“But there isn’t a need at the moment. We think we can accommodate a lot of growth, within our existing footprint.
“Because of all the work that’s been done on the airport by my predecessors, we’ve got a really good domestic terminal, a really good international terminal.”
Mr Carter assured the scrapping of the redevelopment plan was not borne out of financial stress. “We are not in the red,” he said.