The new deal, which was announced yesterday, means the Queenstown Airport Corporation will sidestep a possible delay in the Environment Court which could be caused by an appeal against consent to extract the fill from the Shotover River.
Most of the 760,000cu m needed for the runway end safety area (resa) will now be sourced from a consented subdivision at the Porter Group's Remarkables Park.
It equates to about three times the amount excavated from the nearby Five Mile development in works stalled since July last year.
The fill is said to have an estimated value of $7 million.
The resa, on an engineered fill platform 45m above the Shotover River, will include a bench so an eastern access public road can be built to ease congestion at the Frankton roundabout and service the expanding Remarkables Park.
About 800m of a 2km pedestrian and cycle track will also be provided.
Commissioners' approval of the the airport's Shotover River gravels resource consent application is being appealed by Long Shot Ltd and other parties and could end up in the Environment Court if another round of mediation today fails.
"That puts a certain amount of risk involved in meeting the October 2011 [deadline] date for the construction of the resa and maintaining international flights," airport chief executive Steve Sanderson said at a press conference yesterday.
Porter Group co-managing director Alastair Porter said it was a good solution, as the fill would blend in with the natural terraces, and the contractors would be building from the top down and out of the river.
"I think everybody in this town wants that resa in place because we need to ensure international capability post October 2011."
Mr Porter said the eastern access public road construction costs would be met by developers, hopefully a New Zealand Transport Agency contribution and were yet to be negotiated with the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
Up to 30 Fulton Hogan Queenstown staff would work during the day on the airport-owned site at the peak of the resa construction.
The final three months, in the first quarter of 2011, would involve night-time construction to avoid flight disruption.
Dust control measures will be in place, and noise would not be an issue, Fulton Hogan Southern regional manager Alan Peacock said.
The first two months of construction would involve a substantial amount of foundation work and cleansing of the fill at the base.
Suitable fill would be used in the resa platform.
About 70,000 truckloads of earth would be transported from Remarkables Park once the foundation was built.
Trucks would travel on land owned by the park, the airport or council and not on public roads.
The construction cost, excluding engineering and material supply, was in the order of $5 million and was one of the most significant jobs in the area, Mr Peacock said.
"We'll have it done on time," he said.
