Airport development key to economic growth

In the findings of a recent study undertaken by York Aviation that was commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and BAA, has assessed that the development of Edinburgh International Airport as being one of the central ways by which to support the city’s aspirations to be a leading world city. On top of this, the report has shown that such specific investment has the potential to introduce huge economic growth into Scotland.

Currently ranked as average in the ‘world city’ stakes, it is now acknowledged that Edinburgh’s connectivity must be significantly enhanced if it is to truly compete on the global city stage. It is suggested that with strategic investment expansion in Edinburgh’s transport infrastructure could help boost the Scottish economy by as much as £867m per year.

“This is the most comprehensive study that has ever been undertaken into the airport’s current and potential future contribution to the Scottish economy,” said Gordon Dewar, managing director of Edinburgh Airport. “It confirms the airport’s critical importance to Scotland and to the industries on which our success depends, such as tourism, financial services and bioscience.”

With the report presenting the excellent economic prospects of investment, plans for development of Edinburgh Airport have already been drawn up. The master plan for the airport was published in 2006 and sets out a framework for the airport’s development through to 2030. Government forecasts, as part of the plans, suggest that passenger throughput will continue could significantly grow as a result of investment, with an increase from 18.8m currently to up to 26m passengers per annum by 2030.

In order to help meet the growing demand for air travel at Edinburgh Airport, the private airport operator, BAA, has committed to a significant £200m investment program over the next ten years. Including in this is an important £40m extension to the departure lounge.

The total package of private investment is likely to be sufficient enough to allow the airport to accommodate increased passenger numbers and roughly double the amount of air freight carried per annum by 2020.

Significant additional investment will then be required to take airport capacity to the top 26m passengers per annum level. As part of this, the report has highlighted it may be required to construct a second parallel runway. Such plans have so far have not been opposed by the Scottish government.

Airport expansion is just one facet of an emerging and ambitious shared vision for the future for the whole of the capital and surrounding area. Scottish Enterprise is leading on the preparation of a draft West Edinburgh Implementation Plan, which will, once completed will set out a joint program of action required to finalise the vision for West Edinburgh and provide a mechanism for the coordination of action and investment across the public and private sectors.

The provision of an extended range of strategically located development sites will provide opportunities for Scotland’s company base and enhance the value of Scottish proposition for inward investment. The provision of an increasing number of showcase events at the National Showground will also create many more opportunities for business growth.

Symbols of economic investment in Scotland are already visible, with the opening in September of the first three buildings of the Maxim office park. Claiming to be the UK’s largest speculative office development, the park located in Lanarkshire was opened by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and Olympic medal hero Sir Chris Hoy. When totally completed the £330 million development will be the home of 10 international class office buildings with more than 756,000 sq ft of high class office space enclosed in a landscaped environment offering a range of amenities and leisure facilities – including a PGA accredited nine-hole putting green.

The project is a symbol of Scottish ambition to become a leading economic force in the world. The development being raised from remnants of the Chunghwa Picture Tubes site in just two years, with the potential to attract 8,000 jobs to the area.

“The Scottish Government is doing all it can to counter the recession, maximise employment and to secure a strong recovery from the economic downturn,” said Alex Salmond at the opening of the park. “New facilities such as Maxim Office Park play a key role in supporting the economic recovery through providing quality, modern facilities for enterprises, attracting investment and promoting Scotland as a great place to live, work and do business.”

The airport expansion is similarly being seen as a way of rejuvenating business in tough economic times. It is thought that by the time of completion in 2030, the airport expansion plans will help support up to 16,040 jobs in Scotland. This growing airport will thus pose of vital importance to the success of the capital and surrounding areas, hopefully becoming an international business gateway for companies from around the world to invest in Scotland.

With so much development there is likely to be pressure that any economic plans should take into consideration the environmental and sustainability implications of growth both at the airport and in surrounding developments. Fortunately, Edinburgh airport’s relatively strong current environmental position on noise and air quality has indicated that the any future developments will follow similar lines. Even if some environmental sacrifices need to be made for such growth, it has been assessed that the economic benefits gained from development would substantially outweigh such costs.

“The future growth of Edinburgh Airport is undoubtedly of considerable importance in the context of Edinburgh’s position in the global economy,” Linda McPherson, regional director at Scottish Enterprise, has said. “BAA’s planned investment associated with the airport’s master plan is directly linked, not only with the growth of Edinburgh’s economy but with the future economic success of Scotland.”

“Strong connectivity is a key driver of economic activity across a range of Scotland’s key sectors and also often a deciding factor in many companies location choice when considering investment decisions. Future growth of Edinburgh Airport will bring quantifiable social and economic benefits which far outweigh any associated development costs,” she added.

Gordon Dewar, managing director of Edinburgh Airport, added: “We are already seeing Edinburgh Airport buck the trend that has seen traffic decline at most other airports. This bodes well for the future and it is because of our confidence in that future that we have committed to a £200m program of investment in the airport over the next ten years, critically without the use of a single penny of taxpayers’ money.”

Contact Aileen Hotchkiss at Scottish Enterprise Tel: 0141 228 2848 or email: aileen.hotchkiss@scotent.co.uk. Contact the Maxim business park email: rbright@webershandwick.com