Case Studies

Background

The New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet approached Cessnock City Council (Council) to submit additional details for the Cessnock Airport Upgrade Project under the Growing Local Economies Fund. This submission will build on an Expression of Interest submitted in June 2018. 

The project involves a significant infrastructure upgrade of Cessnock Airport to realise the community’s vision of it being a well-planned and serviced facility that attracts environmentally responsible economic development opportunities to the region. As such, the project has been highlighted in the draft Regional Economic Development Strategy. 

Project Goals

With the decline in the prominence of traditional industries such as mining and manufacturing in the Cessnock LGA, diversification into the visitor economy has proven critical to rebuilding a sustainable and resilient community. To complete the Growing Local Economies Fund application for the airport upgrade, Council required a business and other supporting evidence.  

REMPLAN’s Involvement

REMPLAN prepared a Business Case, including an economic impact assessment and Cost Benefit Analysis, to support Council’s application for funding from the Growing Local Economies Fund. This included: 

• Undertaking research and analysis to develop strategic insights for the project. 

• Facilitation of an Investment Logic Mapping Workshop to build a strong case for the investment.  

• Coordinating the required application documentation.  

• Prepare an Economic Impact Assessment to model the impacts of key project phases. 

• Compile a Cost Benefit Analysis to outline the project’s Net Present Value, taking into account capital investment and forecast operational income and costs. 

• Prepare the final business case document and populate the template application.  

Results

The project was successfully funded and completed.

Economic impact modelling indicates the operation of the upgraded airport will support $32.1 million in output, 91 jobs, and $13.5 million in value-added annually. 

The CBA estimates a net benefit of $117.7 and a Cost Benefit Ratio of 1 : 1.47