聽A majority of councillors approved the proposal to commit NZ$90m (拢42.5m) towards the runway extension which, if built, would enable long-haul international flights to access Wellington.
Wellington鈥檚 deputy mayor Justin Lester said that the decision was a vote of confidence in the runway proposal 鈥� but it stressed that the business case for the runway must still 鈥渟tack up鈥�.
鈥淲e have the support of the entire Wellington region and strong indications of support from the North Island and upper South Island councils,鈥� he said. 鈥淢iddle New Zealand recognises the significant potential benefits to their economies and would like to see direct international flights into the city.鈥�
Councillor Jo Coughlan, who chairs the council鈥檚 economic growth committee, added: 鈥淭here are some big challenges for us in terms of progress toward the extension 鈥� not the least the funding 鈥� but I鈥檓 glad that the majority of my colleagues have backed further work on the runway proposal to keep this project alive.鈥�
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