Brisbane Airport plans to release 30 hectares of industrial land to logistics, warehousing and manufacturing firms across South-East Queensland, in a rollout it values at more than $400 million.
Space for Firms that Need It
Brisbane Airport Corporation outlined the plan on Wednesday, 21 October, with the land due to reach the market over the next three years. It is expected to add more than 150,000 square metres to the airport’s investment property portfolio. The airport values that portfolio at more than $2.6 billion, up by more than $500 million in two years.
Scott Norris, the airport’s executive general manager commercial, called it the most intensive industrial program in the airport’s history. He described it as one of the last chances of this size in the region and said businesses are under real pressure to find space. The airport says Brisbane’s industrial vacancy rate has fallen to 3 per cent and that its own industrial precincts are full. Independent reports this year put the citywide rate higher, between 3.7 per cent and 5.3 per cent depending on the survey.
Why Firms Look at an Airport Site
Location does much of the work. The precinct runs around the clock, and some sites could offer direct access to the airfield. The Gateway Motorway and the Port of Brisbane are both close by. Tenants can also ask for flexible leases or buildings made to their own design.
Stage two of the Airport Industrial Park
The Airport Industrial Park covers 100 hectares, and its first stage is fully leased. Stage two, which launched earlier this year, takes up 25 hectares and plans 27,000 square metres of customisable space for up to 10 tenants. About 40 per cent of the lettable area was pre-committed after launch, the airport says. Building work is expected to finish by mid-2027, and the facilities are aiming for a 5 Star Green Star rating, a measure of sustainable design. Australia Post and Aramex are among the businesses already in the precinct.
Costco and a Bigger Plan
The industrial release is one piece of Future BNE, a program of more than $5 billion over five years and more than 150 projects. It covers everything from terminal upgrades to new commercial land.
The most visible piece so far is a 51-hectare site opposite the International Terminal, planned as a mixed-use area. Brisbane’s first Costco will take 6.7 hectares of it, with a 15,600-square-metre warehouse and fuel station due in late 2029. Chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff has said the retailer is the first of many announcements expected for the site. Hotels, shopping centres and data centres could follow, but none is confirmed.
What it Could Mean for Locals
More than 20,000 people already work at the airport across more than 600 businesses, and the airport has forecast another 10,000 workers over the coming decade. How many jobs the new projects will create has not been detailed in the information released so far.
The 2026 Master Plan, approved by the federal government in June, sets the longer-term direction. The transport minister also asked the airport to keep talking with nearby communities about aircraft noise and to make any flight path changes public once they are decided. For residents and local firms alike, those talks and the rollout ahead will shape how the precinct grows.
Published Date 23-October-2026
