The Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Wilton) Airport (WSI) has reached a significant milestone with the application of the final layer of asphalt on the airport’s 3.7-kilometre runway.

Line marking and final installation of the 3,000 runway lights will be undertaken later in the year.

WSI CEO Simon Hickey said the placing of the final layer of asphalt means the airport is well and truly starting to take shape.

“We’ve laid enough asphalt to cover 41 soccer fields, around 55,000 thousand tonnes of asphalt for the runway of Sydney’s new airport.

“Our runway’s smart terminal design will provide fast taxi times of just five minutes from both ends of the runway, getting our customers in the air or to the gate faster,” said Hickey.

After opening, WSI will provide 20 more flights an hour for Sydney — giving Sydneysiders more choice and placing downward pressure on airfares.

“WSI will have the fastest minimum connection times of any airport on the east coast of Australia. With international and domestic under one roof, transferring between flights will be faster and stress-free for passengers,” said Hickey.

Project Director for the runway construction contractor CPB Contractors ACCIONA Joint Venture Christian Byrne said the team has been placing asphalt for over three months.

Over this time, 270 tonnes of asphalt have been placed per hour — all of which was produced at the on-site Boral batch plant.

“At the same time, we’ve laid approximately 220 kilometres of aeronautical ground lighting cabling under the runway. That’s equivalent to the distance between Sydney and Forster.

“Layers of asphalt have been laid meticulously, often in multiple passes, while quality checks are completed to ensure the surface meets strict tolerances,” said Bryne.

Specific asphalt mixes, designed to handle the repeated stress of aircraft take-offs and landings, have been used for the airport’s runway.

Byrne stated: “The mixtures and materials used offer higher flexibility and load-bearing capacity than those used on roads.”

Hickey added: “WSI is being designed for growth and will eventually become Sydney’s biggest airport.

“We will eventually grow to 82 million annual passengers, around the size of the world’s major airports, such as Dubai and London Heathrow.”

The WSI opening is currently set for late 2026.

“So in less than three years from now planes will be taking off and landing on the runway, connecting Sydney to the world via its cultural heartland, here in Western Sydney,” said Hickey.