GERT-JAN DE GRAAFF: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BRISBANE AIRPORT CORPORATION
Dec 8, 2022 | Annual Leaders Survey 2022
Queensland’s population is growing by one person every 5 minutes and 37 seconds.
People will continue to move to the Sunshine State in the coming years but sustainable growth that protects our unique lifestyle can only be delivered through quality planning, a vision for the future, and a united approach across government, business and our community.
At Brisbane Airport Corporation we are planning for that sustainable future.
Every day around 60,000 people rely on the airport for holidays, to connect with loved ones, to get urgent medical treatment, for business, and for FIFO work. By 2040 our airport will need to serve 50 million passengers each year.
Queensland’s tourism industry relies on us to deliver interstate and overseas guests to support the $23 billion dollar tourism economy which employs 1 in 12 workers.
Every day, farmers and small businesses depend on us to send their goods around the globe. In the past year $1.9 billion worth of time-critical exports including beef, seafood and manufactured goods were dispatched from BNE.
Today, 24,000 people come to work at Brisbane Airport, and we know there will be another 10,000 jobs created on site in the coming decade.
That’s why we’re planning to invest more than $5 billion in the next 10 years to upgrade both terminals, build extra car parking, develop a regional aeromedical hub, expand Skygate and DFO, and build more freight facilities. And right now we’re discussing the need for a new, third terminal with our airline partners.
We are well-placed to further develop the airport’s air connectivity to meet travel demand, but equally important is BNE’s connectivity on the ground.
All levels of government need to collaborate to ensure fast, reliable and affordable road and public transport connections for travellers and workers to BNE. We need mass transit connections not just to the CBD and Brisbane suburbs, but also the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
Our vision for Brisbane Airport is To Connect the World and Create the Future. At the heart of that, is sustainability. Its why Brisbane Airport Corporation has hit fast forward on our plans to be net zero by 2025.
At the end of the day if we get sustainability and connectivity right, together we can ensure Queensland remains the greatest place in the world to live, work and visit.