With construction of the new airport almost complete, the Australian Government will see the country’s most significant aviation project in over 50 years enter the final testing and operational readiness phase later this year. When Australia’s newest and best airport opens in the second half of 2026 to international and domestic passengers, Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) is set to be a world-leading modern facility that puts people at the center of its design, using the latest technology to enhance the customer experience. Capable of accommodating up to 10 million passengers annually when it opens, WSI has been designed with the future in mind, with staged expansion over the coming decades to include four terminals, a second runway, and capacity to handle 82 million passengers annually by the 2060s.

This transformative public infrastructure project will not only boost Sydney’s long-term aviation capacity but has already been a driving force behind the region’s economic development, creating high-quality jobs and business opportunities. Since 2018, when construction started on the AU$5.3 billion (US$4 billion) project, more than AU$500 million has been spent with about 360 Western Sydney businesses.

Partnering to Build History

Bechtel was awarded the Project Definition Manager and Delivery Partner contracts in 2018, and our team of aviation, construction, engineering, and project experts is managing the delivery of the five main works packages —  earthworks, airside, terminal, landside, and technology.

Bechtel developed and implemented a comprehensive project management plan with systems, policies, and processes that provide a consistent framework for delivering the project.

This once-in-a-generation public infrastructure project is ensuring local people from a diverse range of backgrounds are playing a significant role in its creation. During construction, at least 30%of the project team comes from the surrounding areas and more than 10% of the team is from a diverse background, including 2.4% being First Nations employees.

Bechtel’s integrated team has been tasked with taking this remarkable new airport from design through to completion, paving the way for the operational readiness phase to begin before the airport opens in late 2026. Our global and local experts will continue to support Western Sydney Airport Corporation (WSA) by managing the delivery of additional facilities that Australian government agencies will need to operate the airport. Our experience delivering some of the world’s most complex and innovative aviation projects — both greenfield and brownfield — has added value at every stage of the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) phases of this iconic public infrastructure project.

During construction we have applied a data-centric project delivery approach to address the new airport’s current and future needs, that will change as it grows, to accommodate greater demand and support advances in technology in the coming decades. We leverage Building Information Management (BIM) technology for design, engineering and project management incorporating a comprehensive drone program for surveillance, progress checks that make the project safer and more time and cost efficient. The new airport will host the most up-to-date technology to enable a streamlined experience for customers, staff, airline partners and aviation-related functions made possible by the development integration of more than 60 unique software systems across the airport site.

One Team Approach

Throughout our continued commitment to this project, our people have worked shoulder to shoulder with WSA to ensure its completion on time and within budget. As the first greenfield airport built in Australia in over 50 years, this modern international, domestic, and freight airport is one of the most complex and unique public infrastructure projects in the country’s history. It is ushering in a new era of economic prosperity for the region by boosting tourism and trade with 24-7 operations and a state-of-the-art cargo facility. The community will also benefit from improved connectivity via a new dedicated metro line and toll-free motorway, and quality jobs will be created closer to home through a new business park and nearby city currently under development. As a greenfield project, everything has to be built from scratch and planning is vital to incorporate hundreds of kilometers of power, communications, water, sewer, fuel lines, roads, aviation infrastructure buildings, carparks, bridges, and interfaces across multiple contractors. Airports have the capacity to vastly improve a region’s capabilities, and Bechtel is proud to be part of the WSI story so far.