Launching the start of construction on the airport's new environmentally friendly southern concourse terminal, Mr Byron said the project was back on track after problems linked to the global financial crisis.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and German financier WestLB have all agreed to provide more than $330 million in credit to fund the project, dubbed AirVolution.

By the middle of next year, Canberra Airport will feature a four-storey carpark with covered access to the terminal and no roads to cross.

Long taxi queues on a wind-swept footpath will also be a thing of the past, thanks to the country's first fully enclosed taxi rank.

By the project's 2012 completion date, travellers would benefit from the installation of international capabilities at the airport, including immigration and customs, more than double the number of check-in counters, triple the baggage capacity and quadruple the airline club lounge areas.

"This new terminal will be the best in Australia and for its size probably the best in the world," Mr Byron said in a statement on Tuesday.

The project will generate more than 350 on-site jobs during the construction phase, a further 1,000 off-site employment opportunities for suppliers and 300 jobs related to the ongoing operation of the airport.

"This infrastructure will deliver an economic boost into the future, driving growth in the tourism and transport economies, not only in the Canberra region but throughout Australia," Mr Byron said.

Full coverage in tomorrow's Canberra Times