Confidential plans for Sydney's second airport at Badgerys Creek have been leaked by an Australian mainstream media outlet, who also revealed that stage one construction could begin next year and that the airport would eventually rival the size of JFK International Airport in New York.

While the designer behind the basic concept plans is yet to be revealed, there have been calls for an expert team to be responsible for the airport’s design.

Australian public policy institute, The McKell Institute called for an architectural competition back in July 2014, and Consult Australia held their own design competition in October 2014 to provoke a broader discussion about what the public wants from the new airport.

Representatives from Australian architecture firms Cox Richardson and HASSELL were involved in the Consult competition and the winning concept, which involved Cox’s Lachlan Abercrombie, can be found here:

A series of maps were leaked by News Corp Australia showing the planned location, runway configurations and terminals envisaged for the airport. They include details about Stages 1 and 2 for the airport’s construction and schematics drawings of the airport’s configuration and size.

The initial construction stage, which could begin in 2016, would involve the excavation of some 100 million cubic metres to create a level precinct in Western Sydney of roughly 20sqkm.

The stage 1 site map, marked "for cost purposes only", shows a single east-west runway of 3,700m and a small domestic and international terminal as well as a cargo terminal. A schematics drawing also shows a three-kilometre transport tunnel earmarked for a future underground rail link to the airport.

Above: The maps released by Newscorp
Below: An artist impression of the airport terminal. Image source: the image was taken from a concept design produced for a design competition held by Consult Australia in October 2014.

News Corp has reported that the stage one runway would accommodate the largest plane in the sky — the A380, and that the total cost for the first stage will come in at around $4 billion. They also said Stage 1 airport could accommodate 10 million passengers annually and by 2050 an expanded Badgerys Creek airport could accommodate 80 million, twice the current number serviced by Sydney Airport at Mascot.

According to the maps, the airport should by 2050 expand to include twin parallel 3.7 kilometre runways, with passenger terminals positioned between them. They also show a large amount of space allocated for commercial development, cargo buildings and a massive glazed roof terminal.

Images: News Corp

Nathan Johnson

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