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Katie Woolf spoke with NT Airports CEO Tony Edmondstone · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf on Mixed one oh four
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  Speaker 1: point nine.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks to Joyce Main Darwin, we are.
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  Speaker 1: Learning that's there is set to be a major redevelopment underway.
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  Speaker 1: The Airport Development Group has announced plans to create what
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  Speaker 1: they're calling a world class destination resort in Darwin with
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  Speaker 1: the redevelopment of the Macure Darwin Airport Resort and the
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  Speaker 1: Novtel Darwin Airport Hotel. Joining us on the line to
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  Speaker 1: talk more about this, anti airport CEO Tony Edmondston. Good morning, Tony, morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Tony talk us through this redevelopment.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, you know, we looked at the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: and in particular you know, very very bullish around the
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  Speaker 2: upcoming dry season and particularly the growth in domestic tourism,
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  Speaker 2: and you know how we can position for what we
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  Speaker 2: think is going to be a really strong international rebound
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  Speaker 2: when international flights come back in a couple of years time.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, we're sort of on a two year
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  Speaker 2: journey here to redevelop these resorts again to one single
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  Speaker 2: integrated resort with multiple water slides and swimming pools and
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  Speaker 2: lagoon pools and again you know, young kids aqua player
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  Speaker 2: is Tony.
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  Speaker 1: For those out there listening who aren't sure exactly where
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  Speaker 1: this is going to happen, it's the two existing hotels
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  Speaker 1: out at the airport, isn't it correct?
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  Speaker 2: Correct? So there's the current roadway that sort of merges
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  Speaker 2: between the two and two very standalone buildings. What we're
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  Speaker 2: doing is, you know, we've got a few roads in
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  Speaker 2: infrastructure that we have to move to merge them into one.
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  Speaker 2: You know, again through the centerpiece, you know, will be
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  Speaker 2: a very very large lagoon pool with all of the
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  Speaker 2: necessary activities that we know tourists and holidaymakers want to enjoy.
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  Speaker 2: And how much work.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it's obviously going to be quite an enormous
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  Speaker 1: project by the sounds of things when you talk about
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  Speaker 1: moving roads and making some changes there. How long are
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  Speaker 1: you expecting this to take?
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  Speaker 2: Probably a couple of years. And you know, again, you know,
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  Speaker 2: we sort of run a wet and dry sea and
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  Speaker 2: up here, as you know, a lot of the civil
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  Speaker 2: type activities we've got to get done during the upcoming
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  Speaker 2: dry season, and particularly that's around infrastructure and roads and relocations.
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  Speaker 2: You know, when the wet season comes at the end
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  Speaker 2: of the year, the focus will go to you know,
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  Speaker 2: work inside the buildings and new additional accommodation offerings and
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  Speaker 2: then really dry season twenty twenty two will be when
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  Speaker 2: that's center pools and other things are done, because what
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  Speaker 2: we don't want to do is, you know, excavation works
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  Speaker 2: when it's raining.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred percent, Tony. So when are you going
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  Speaker 1: to start?
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  Speaker 2: We've already started on a number of the villas out
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  Speaker 2: of the back. I think we've sort of got six
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  Speaker 2: under construction right now. They're all going to have individual
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  Speaker 2: plunge pools and a bit unique experiences that overlook you know,
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  Speaker 2: the nature that is Rapid Creek. They'll be up and
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  Speaker 2: done and finished within about seven to eight weeks.
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  Speaker 1: And how much is the development going to cost? Me?
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  Speaker 2: Let me talk about it. It's multiple tens of millions, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: We don't know the exact number, but it's well up there.
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  Speaker 1: And all going to local contractors mostly.
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  Speaker 2: So we've got we've got, you know, all the first
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  Speaker 2: work packages that have gone out have gone out to
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  Speaker 2: local contractors. At the moment, we would hope that most
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  Speaker 2: of those would go to local contractors. You know, In
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  Speaker 2: some of the design works we're doing, we're using a
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  Speaker 2: balance between local doing some work and some interstates as well.
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  Speaker 1: And Tony said that you are really hoping to position
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  Speaker 1: the airport for when those international flights return. I guess
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  Speaker 1: it's it's anyone's guess when that might happen. But is
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  Speaker 1: that looking as though it's it's not too far off
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  Speaker 1: now with the rollout of the vaccination.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, look, I think that helps. You know, we've seen
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  Speaker 2: Quantus and ounce sort of one October that they're planning
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  Speaker 2: on the restart of international. You know, from a personal perspective,
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  Speaker 2: we probably have a view that it will be a
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  Speaker 2: transition plan over six to twelve months. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: what we haven't yet seen is what's the requirement. You know,
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  Speaker 2: do your VACA? You know, do you have to vac
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  Speaker 2: before you get on? Is there still some form of
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  Speaker 2: quarantine testing? You know, we still don't yet know whether,
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  Speaker 2: even if you've been vaccinated, whether you can still carry
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  Speaker 2: or not. And all of that is still evolving. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we're hoping that the back half of twenty twenty one
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  Speaker 2: will start the transition to international, and then sometime during
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty two, you know, it'll be open for all.
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  Speaker 2: We are very bullish though on the upcoming domestic tourist season.
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  Speaker 1: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: You know, our passenger numbers now are sitting sort of
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  Speaker 2: seventy to seventy five percent of pre COVID domestics and
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  Speaker 2: that'll probably put us as a percentage, you know, number
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  Speaker 2: one or number two across Australia for international airport. So
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  Speaker 2: we're very bullish around what the territory has to offer.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think, you know, everybody is certainly hoping that
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  Speaker 1: we can get as many people here as possible, but
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  Speaker 1: all understanding that, you know that we've got to keep
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  Speaker 1: things as safe as possible as well. But it sounds
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  Speaker 1: as though we are seeing the return of those those
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  Speaker 1: tourists from into state.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Correct. And I think as we sort of hit
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  Speaker 2: you know, April, May June and we get to that
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  Speaker 2: start of that dry season, I think, you know, the
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  Speaker 2: hospitality industry up in the territory, we'll see an uptick
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  Speaker 2: in future bookings. I think the critical one right now
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  Speaker 2: is that our domestic borders remain unchanged, and I mean
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  Speaker 2: travelers want confidence to be able to book and the
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  Speaker 2: constant shopping and changing is probably having a bigger effect
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  Speaker 2: than anything right now, Tony, was it.
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  Speaker 1: A big decision for the airport to sort of go
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  Speaker 1: outside of the usual realm my geese and and you
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  Speaker 1: know now looking at developments like hotels.
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  Speaker 2: Oh look, you know, you know, whether we like it
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  Speaker 2: or not as an airport, we're in the tourism industry,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we see this as a natural extension of
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  Speaker 2: the tourism industry. You know, it's not Mitchell Street, it's
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  Speaker 2: not downtown Darwin. But you know again it will be
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  Speaker 2: you know, a fantastic resort that people can use as
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  Speaker 2: a base to jump in their cars and go to
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  Speaker 2: Kakadu or explore the rest of the top.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we'll all be really really keen to see how
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  Speaker 1: it all unfolds and how it looks when it's done. Tony,
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  Speaker 1: lovely to speak to you this morning, Thanks so much
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  Speaker 1: for your time.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you.
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  Speaker 1: Anti Airport's CEO there, Tony Edmondstone And yeah, I think
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  Speaker 1: it's an interesting one. It's going to be great to
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  Speaker 1: see those two hotels done up and looking wonderful hopefully,
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  Speaker 1: and by the sounds of it, mostly local contractors, but
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  Speaker 1: it is going to be a couple of years off
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  Speaker 1: by the sounds