Airspace height problems for Australia 108 skyscraper can be resolved: Benni Aroni
The Australian 108 skyscraper approved for development on Melbourne’s Southbank just over a week ago has run into trouble because its proposed height infringes on the flight path into Essendon Airport, according to a report in The Age.
Victorian planning minister Matthew Guy approved the 108-storey apartment and hotel tower, which is due to rise 388 metres above the city and would be the tallest residential tower in the southern hemisphere.
The $600 million apartment tower (pictured below), designed by architects Fender Katsalidis, would breach the airspace of Essendon Airport, which is 13 kilometres north of the city. The airport has a 373-metre height envelope for aircraft approaching from the south.
These limits are set according to a federal protection system known as PANS-OPS (procedures for air navigation services - aircraft operations), which is designed to allow aircraft to fly safely in and out of airports and is set by international agreement.
There are no provisions for penetrating this airspace, a Department of Infrastructure and Transport spokeswoman told The Age.
It is not the first concern to be raised about the proposed tower, with Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle suggesting in February that it could overshadow the Shrine of Remembrance.
Australia 108 is backed by private investors believed to include Nonda Katsalidis, Benni Aroni, Adrian Valmorbida, Ian Fayman, Gary Caulfield and Mark Hopkinson.
Benni Aroni, chairman and founder of construction and property development firm Stralliance, said one of the conditions for approving the tower were that arrangements were made with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
“I believe it is a resolvable issue," he told The Age.
The Age quotes industry sources saying an alternative could be for Essendon Airport flight paths to be altered, which would require the support of the federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Air Services Australia.
Planning minister Matthew Guy remains adamant the building has received all the necessary approvals.
Apartments in the building start at $425,000 for a one-bedroom unit, $575,00 for a two-bedroom unit and $775,00 for a three-bedroom unit. There will be 664 apartments.