A new multi-billion dollar city to be built around the long-awaited western Sydney airport will make the area one of the best places to live and work in Australia, the prime minister says.
Malcolm Turnbull spruiked the "world-class precinct" to a group of local and international business leaders on Monday, saying it will create thousands of jobs and be home to more than one million people.
"We want to emulate the success of Incheon in South Korea, Schiphol in the Netherlands and Dallas-Fort Worth in the United States," he told the investor forum.
The city will be built on a 10,000-hectare greenfield site around Sydney's second airport, which the federal government predicts will have more passengers pass through it by 2063 than London's Heathrow Airport does now.
Local, state and federal governments have already committed nearly $20 billion for transport, health and education infrastructure in the region, including $5.3 billion from the commonwealth for the airport.
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"For the first time, all three levels of government will be united in one purpose - to make western Sydney one of the best places to live and work in Australia," Mr Turnbull said.
To avoid "growing pains", infrastructure is being built in advance, he said, noting the commitment to fund the North-South rail link from St Marys to Badgerys Creek via the new airport.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her government was also committed to delivering the rail line in time for the airport's opening.
"We are absolutely committed to working hard to deliver that as well as road projects," Ms Berejiklian told reporters.
The city, which Ms Berejiklian hopes to make the manufacturing capital of Australia, could feature an aerospace institute and STEM university while also being a "green, liveable" region for residents.
To deliver the "brand new city," the premier said her government would fast-track infrastructure to make sure red tape didn't get in the way.
Ms Berejiklian said she was "overwhelmed" by the interest shown in the region by local and international investors such as Costco and Amazon, which have already committed to building warehouses in the area.
Major US defence contractor Northrop Grumman also will invest $50 million in a defence and aerospace precinct within the aerotropolis.
Work on the airport in Badgerys Creek is underway, with early stage earthworks due to begin at the end of the year, federal Urban Infrastructure and Cities Minister Paul Fletcher told the forum.
The airport, 60km west of the Sydney CBD, is likely to be operational by late 2026.
