Western Sydney Airport

RPS assembled a multi-disciplinary team to support the planning, design, development and procurement of one of Australia’s most anticipated transport infrastructure initiatives – Western Sydney Airport.

Solution

With plans for the airport to operate on a 24-hour, curfew-free basis, careful assessment of potential impacts on the environment and community has been vital in gaining the approvals necessary to progress the project from scoping through to design, procurement and delivery.

RPS specialists have contributed their expertise to the multi-disciplinary team led by GHD to prepare Western Sydney Airport’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – a key document that considers the impact Western Sydney Airport will have across range of social and environmental metrics.

Our people were involved in the EIS’ design, writing and production, and led the extensive community engagement program required for the Statement. Our teams have also contributed critical information and technical advice to the EIS including a European heritage investigation, planning and land use advice, visual and landscape impact review, and community health assessment.

In addition to our work on environmental approvals and community engagement for the Airport, RPS has been providing commercial, technical and transaction advice to the Commonwealth and its dedicated project development, delivery and initial operational authority – the Western Sydney Airport Corporation (WSA Co) for a number of years.

When WSA Co was first established in 2017, the authority sought the expertise of consultants who have shaped the delivery of other major integrated transport infrastructure projects. Our people were appointed to the WSA Co Business Advisor (BA) team to develop the project’s business case, Airport Plan and supporting documentation.

Over the course of our engagement as a commercial and technical advisor, RPS has provided Western Sydney Airport’s Stage 1 Construction Program and Constructability Report, a review of the project’s Business Case Estimate Report, and has had responsibility for the preparation of the project’s functional specifications and packaging of work elements.

Our commercial and technical advisors were also involved in preparing a workable delivery strategy for WSA Co. The strategy, once agreed by the WSA Co Board, was then implemented through market sounding and transaction management.