All of the sandstone extracted to construct the Sydney Metro tunnels will be reused in building the Western Sydney Airport under an agreement between the Federal and NSW Governments.

Trucks will transport more than 500,000 tonnes of sandstone from Metro tunnelling sites at Chatswood and Marrickville to the site of Sydney’s new airport at Badgerys Creek.

“The colossal weight of sandstone being reused at Western Sydney Airport is the equivalent to almost two thousand Boeing 787 Dreamliners,” said Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge.

“This innovative solution will save taxpayers money and reduce environmental impact through recycling the sandstone for use in the airport’s construction, rather than going to landfill.”

The sandstone will be used as a foundation to support the construction of the runway, taxiways and roads on the site of the airport.

More than 148,000 tonnes of high-quality sandstone have been transferred to the airport site since May, and Sydney Metro aims to reuse 100 per cent of the crushed rock removed during excavation.

Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport will service international and domestic, as well as full-service and low-cost carriers. Federal funding of up to $5.3 billion has been allocated to the project, which is currently on-track to open in late 2026.

More than 11,000 direct and indirect jobs will be supported during its construction. By 2031, the airport will support about 28,000 direct and indirect jobs.