Gayndah Airport safer after major upgrade
Published Saturday, 06 October, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
Gayndah air services were much safer after the Queensland Government paid for a major upgrade to the airport runway, Transport Minister John Mickel said today.
"The state government usually shares the funding for rural and remote airport upgrades jointly with local councils under Queensland Transport's Regional Airports Development Scheme," he said.
"Gayndah Airport was a special case where the government took on the total cost of $566,000 initially, because of the urgency involved," Mr Mickel said.
"The Royal Flying Doctor Service ranked Gayndah as its number one priority for an upgrade because undulations in the runway surface made landing risky.
"With the Royal Flying Doctor Service unable to guarantee the safety of emergency medical evacuations for Gayndah residents, the government acted as quickly as possible to fix it, with an initial grant of $445,000.
"The government made a further contribution to pay for ancillary work totalling $121,000."
"As a result, Gayndah now has a safe all-weather airport that provides for all air services and particularly the safety of medical evacuations," he said.
The upgrade was commissioned by Queensland Transport and constructed by RoadTek, a division of the Department of Main Roads. It included reconstruction and resealing works.
"The outcome for this community is that airport has a safe and usable surface for years to come," Mr Mickel said.
"Gayndah Airport is an example of how funding from the state government's Regional Airport Development Scheme helps to improve basic access and provide support for rural communities."
Media contact: Chris Brown 3237 1944 or Elouise Campion 3237 1125.
October 6, 2007
"The state government usually shares the funding for rural and remote airport upgrades jointly with local councils under Queensland Transport's Regional Airports Development Scheme," he said.
"Gayndah Airport was a special case where the government took on the total cost of $566,000 initially, because of the urgency involved," Mr Mickel said.
"The Royal Flying Doctor Service ranked Gayndah as its number one priority for an upgrade because undulations in the runway surface made landing risky.
"With the Royal Flying Doctor Service unable to guarantee the safety of emergency medical evacuations for Gayndah residents, the government acted as quickly as possible to fix it, with an initial grant of $445,000.
"The government made a further contribution to pay for ancillary work totalling $121,000."
"As a result, Gayndah now has a safe all-weather airport that provides for all air services and particularly the safety of medical evacuations," he said.
The upgrade was commissioned by Queensland Transport and constructed by RoadTek, a division of the Department of Main Roads. It included reconstruction and resealing works.
"The outcome for this community is that airport has a safe and usable surface for years to come," Mr Mickel said.
"Gayndah Airport is an example of how funding from the state government's Regional Airport Development Scheme helps to improve basic access and provide support for rural communities."
Media contact: Chris Brown 3237 1944 or Elouise Campion 3237 1125.
October 6, 2007