Avalon Airport land set to take off as Air Asia flights approach

The first international flights don’t take off until December but the benefits of Avalon Airport’s increased reach has already landed.

A 141ha highway site adjacent to the airport has been listed for sale with the agents expecting landbankers to offer more than $50 million for the property.

That comes after Melbourne investors paid $4.1 million in 2012 for the farm at 15 Avalon Rd, at the Avalon Rd interchange with the Princes Freeway.

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Rutherford Real Estate director Atholl Williams is seeking expressions of interest for the property, which is being marketed as a landbanking opportunity.

“Rarely will landbankers have the opportunity to purchase freehold land a mere five minutes from a major international airport and less than an hour from two others,” Williams says.

The listing comes as Swissport, an international terminal contractor for Air Asia, advertised this week for customer service agents and baggage handlers to work at Avalon Airport.

15 Avalon Rd, Avalon, is on the market. Agents expect offers above $50 million for the landbanking opportunity.

Williams says the site has high exposure, with a combined traffic count of 58,000 vehicles a day passing the Princes Highway, plus connectivity to ports, rail and other airports.

“Such prime road, air and port connectivity means the property holds a wealth of landbanking opportunities,” Williams says.

“Business park, industrial estate, major international corporate development or even a combination of these are all potential opportunities to be looked into, but would be subject to government co-operation and approvals.”

Avalon Airport chief executive officer Justin Giddings says it’s unlikely the airport’s owners, Linfox, will be in the market for the property, given it already controls 1700ha of land.

“It is zoned rural land and it think it’s unlikely that will change because of the airport,” Giddings says.

Air Asia will fly to Kuala Lumpur from Avalon Airport.

“It’s very hard to have commercial and industrial land in that area because of the flight paths and the like.

“We’d be interested to see who buys it and we wouldn’t support anything that has a detrimental effect on the operation of the airport, which is a priority for the region,” he says.

Mr Giddings said the airport’s ultimate plans included a hotel, better car parking, shopping and service station near the terminal.

A railway corridor linking the Geelong-Melbourne rail line to the airport has been established on planning documents.

Offers for the property close on November 12.

This article from the Geelong Advertiser originally appeared as “Avalon Airport adjacent land price takes off as Air Asia flights near”.