Western Sydney will get its own beach - of sorts - when a major new theme park opens near Blacktown next year.
The first sods were turned for the construction of Wet n' Wild Sydney today, which is expected to open by summer 2013.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell spoke at the site this morning, currently a series of dusty rolling hills just off the M4 Motorway, on land that is being leased by the Western Sydney Parklands Trust.
"It is anticipated that 900,000 people will visit the park every year including 175,000 people from interstate and overseas," he said.
The park will includes a series of 42 technicolour slides with concepts the Premier cheerily admitted he "did not understand" and names like the "Sky Coaster" and "Tornado".
The park will also feature a fake beach, approximately the size of Freshwater, complete with 10-foot waves where surfing and body boarding is allowed.
The premier said it was great people in the west who wanted to go for a surf could now do so in their own backyard, without having to drive to the coast.
"They're about to put a beach within reach of Western Sydney," said Mr O'Farrell.
The $115 million park is being built by Village Roadshow, and is expected to deliver 300 construction jobs, as well as 300 permanent jobs.
The park will use up to 100 mega litres of water per year, and use a mix of town water and harvested water.
