Following more than 30 years of political wrangling, the federal government has announced that construction on the new airport will begin in 2016 and conclude in 2024, with most of the cost to be met by a private sector operator. The government estimates the price tag will be around $2.4 billion, based on estimates in the Joint Study on aviation capacity in the Sydney region. No further land acquisitions are predicted to be necessary at this point. The site was first identified as a potential location for a second airport in 1969. In the 1970s government commissioned studies considered it the preferred location, leading to the federal government declaring in 1986 that Badgerys Creek was where the second major airport would be built. From 1986 until 1991, 1700ha of land was acquired for the airport, and since the 1990s NSW government planning restrictions have been in place to stop what the current federal government calls "incompatible residential and urban development".
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