Airport upgrade taking flight

FASTEN your seatbelts and prepare for take-off because the Bendigo Airport expansion project is officially underway.

Victorian Minister for Regional Development, Harriet Shing, was joined by Federal Member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters, local state members of parliament, and representatives of the City of Greater Bendigo last Wednesday to mark the start of construction on the terminal precinct.

Contributions from the three levels of government total just under $10 million, with the project to result in a new, larger building with a departure lounge, cafe, security screening area, office space, and restroom.

An adjacent business park will also be built with of 21 lots ultimately made available.

Ms Shing said it was great to see work start on the municipality’s priority project.

“This is part of a longstanding commitment we have to building infrastructure and working across different levels of government to achieve the best possible outcomes to manage population growth, improve our visitor economies and assist business and industry to grow,” she said.

Both the Federal and State governments provided $4.5 million from and the City of Greater Bendigo put in $985,000.

Ms Chesters said while currently the only flights from the airport are to Sydney, Qantas could consider opening more routes.

“The conversations will now be happening with Qantas and other airlines about travel to Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide and beyond,” she said.

“The opportunity we now have as locals to travel is awesome.”

Ms Chesters said other airlines like Rex and Virgin have also shown an interest in the airport.

“By flying in and out of a city like Bendigo, you don’t just engage Greater Bendigo, you engage the region,” she said.

“People who may not have considered air travel do if they know they’re an hour away from an airport that can connect them to the rest of the world.”

City of Greater Bendigo CEO Craig Neimann said with work starting at the airport, more partnerships between State, Federal and local government can be expected.

“We can’t do this on our own, this is a $10 million project,” he said.

“We can’t afford to put all our eggs in that basket, we’ve got to spread our projects and services across the community.”

Mr Neimann said current projects requiring a funding partnership include the Bendigo Art Gallery upgrade, the Golden Dragon Museum upgrade, the Bendigo Regional Employment Precinct in Marong, and upgrades to venues for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.