Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) has hinted at future plans for its Wānaka land in its draft masterplan, which was made public yesterday (May 24).

The airport corporation owns 148.5 hectares of land adjacent to Wānaka Airport which is zoned rural and currently leased for farming activities and to NASA for their super pressure balloon launches.

QAC said while it does not currently have plans for further development of the land it is considering its options.

“We will continue to monitor demand for land surrounding Wānaka Airport and investigate opportunities to increase our returns based on consentable activities,” QAC said in the draft masterplan.

“Sustainable development initiatives, including renewable energy activities, will be actively investigated and will play an important role in making the best use of this land.”

The draft masterplan, which is now out for public consultation, proposes a series of infrastructure improvements at Queenstown Airport over the next decade under a $300M capital investment programme.

It says QAC has not dedicated any capital expenditure in the financial forecast for the development of non-aero-nautical land holdings - like the Wānaka land.

“Development of our non-aeronautical land holdings will only proceed when feasibility studies demonstrate appropriate commercial returns on a stand-alone basis will be achievable over time.”

A significant proportion of the capital expenditure is expected to be invested in a terminal upgrade at Queenstown Airport. The terminal’s capacity for passenger movements is 2.2M per annum and the plan forecasts passenger movements to increase 100% over the next 10 years to 3.211M

“We are proposing an extension to the terminal to make the best use of the current footprint and greatly improve the experience for those travelling, meeting and farewelling, and working at the airport,” QAC CEO Glenn Sowry said.

Glenn Sowry

Key projects proposed in the draft masterplan include:

• extending and modernising the Queenstown terminal
• creating better passenger flow and land transport connections, prioritising active and public transport networks
• relocating general aviation activities away from the main residential area of Frankton, with helicopters consolidated north of the runway and fixed-wing aircraft in a new precinct south of the runway
• constructing a parallel taxiway to improve the efficiency of the airfield and to reduce emissions on the ground and in the air
• constructing an extra aircraft parking stand
• enhancing the safety of the runway by installing new technology, with engineered materials arresting systems (EMAS) at each end
• building a new base for the Airport Emergency Service.

The draft plan forecasts revenue to grow 228 percent over the next 10 years to $118M and QLDC’s dividend to increase from $2.3M this year to $14.8M in 2032.

Public consultation on the draft masterplan is open until June 23 and is being done in partnership with the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC). 

More information about the plan and consultation process can be found here on Queenstown Airport’s website.

Pop-up information sessions will also be held at public locations around the district over the next month. 

QAC is a Council Controlled Trading Organisation (CCTO) owned 75.01 percent by QLDC and 24.99 percent by Auckland International Airport Limited.

PHOTO: Supplied