Queensland Transport Minister Bart Mellish said that the cost estimates came from a preliminary business case, with a final cost to be established by a detailed business case “as is appropriate for a project of this complexity”.

“It does have an estimated cost of $4.4 billion, with a cost range that is $3.1 billion to $7.6 billion,” he vertelde de Gold Coast-bulletin.

“We will move to a full business case and this is a priority project but we have to see what the cost will be before we jump in feet-first.

“When we are talking about the business case, it is important to have eyes-wide-open about what we are going into. It has a good cost-benefit ratio.”

According to Mellish, the Government wants the project completed by the 2032 Olympics, with the bridges over Tallebudgera and Currumbin Creeks expected to be the biggest cost difficulties. The Government is looking to complete a detailed business case by the end of next year.

“The full business case will begin soon and is an 18-month process, which is long, but it will nut into the geotechnical detail of where the tram will cross the road and how we do the creek crossings,” he said.

“Stages 1-2 have been really well-received and we are really keen to see Stage 3 completed. The benefits this will bring to the southern Gold Coast will be substantial.”

Gold Coast Airport is the sixth-busiest in Australia and the largest of four airports owned by Queensland Airports Limited, which also owns Longreach, Mount Isa and Townsville Airports.

Its draft Master Plan, vorige maand uitgebracht, envisions a mixed-used precinct including a plaza with access to both light and heavy rail.

De luchthaven anno 2022 voltooide een uitbreiding van $ 260 miljoen van de zuidelijke terminal, waardoor de footprint met 30,000 vierkante meter werd verdubbeld.

Bovendien was de luchthaven vorig jaar gekozen als derde uitvalsbasis voor low-cost luchtvaartmaatschappij Bonza, die vliegt van de Gold Coast naar Albury, Bundaberg, Cairns, Darwin, Gladstone, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne (Avalon), Melbourne (Tullamarine), Mount Isa, Mildura, Rockhampton, Townsville en de Whitsunday Coast .