WESTERN NSW airports are set to benefit from further government funding after the Australian Government announced that it will provide $66 million in grants for regional airports across the country.
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The funding is through the Regional Airports Screening Infrastructure (RASI) grant program, which itself is part of the Government's $715 million COVID-19 Australian Airline Financial Relief Package.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack, said the funding would allow regional airports to carry out necessary infrastructure works in preparation for increased passengers as more air services take flight.
"The aviation industry was one of the first and hardest-hit industries during COVID-19 and as we look to get even more planes back in the sky, we are continuing to support regional airports to ensure they bounce back strongly and can continue to connect our regions," he said.
"This critical grant funding will reduce the costs to regional airports of security screening compliance at regional airports across Australia."
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The funding will not only provide benefits to the airports, airlines and their passengers, but also help boost regional tourism and local economies.
"Not only will this provide a significant boost for the airports, it will benefit regional passengers across Australia by ensuring those grant-funded screening costs don't flow through to ticket prices," he said.
"It's been a difficult year for the sector, its workers and those communities that rely on their local airports.
"That's why we've taken fast and decisive action by committing more than $2.7 billion to maintaining aviation jobs and critical air connections, with funding having flowed from early on in the pandemic."
When contacted, the Department was unable to confirm exactly which airports were set to receive funding for security reasons.
However, the RASI funding is a further boost to regional airports with many around the Central West and Western NSW already receiving significant funding from Round 1 of the Regional Airports Program (RAP) in 2020, including:
- Bathurst- $500,000 for construction of a new taxiway, flood management works and taxiway lighting
- Dubbo- $250,000 for patching, resealing and line-marking
- Mudgee- $308,220 for repairing and resealing runways
- Narrabri- $299,392 for sealing of apron
- Narromine- $419,750 for lighting upgrades, installation of secondary illuminated wind indicators and fencing upgrades
- Peak Hill, Trundle and Tullamore- $27,869 for replacing gable markers and windsocks, and patching of runways
The Government will soon announce recipients of further $58.8 million in RAP grants with applications for Round 2 of the RAP now closed.
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