A daring Queensland entrepreneur has moved crews to a 24/7 digging schedule to prepare the site of a new commercial airport near Toowoomba.

Millionaire John Wagner bet the family fortune on the project which will see an airport, industrial park, at least one hotel and a shopping centre built just fifteen kilometres from the Brisbane international airport.

Wagner gained council approval last year; he says he expects the first commercial jets to arrive from 2014. Aside from his own and other corporate jets, Mr Wagner expects the airport to service fly-in, fly-out workers for the mining and gas industry, live cattle flights to Japan, international freight and both Virgin and Qantas passenger aircraft.

Much of the design and business plan for the privately owned airport still exists only in Mr Wagner's head.

The Coal Seam Gas mining boom in the nearby Surat Basin is seen as a critical factor, set to bring billions to the region.

The planning application was lodged on the last day of a regime that did not require wide community consultation, leading to concerns from some residents over the hasty approval and possible short-sightedness of the project.

Local Liberal National Party MP Ian Macfarlane says the airport is a "game-changer" for the region; "The process was there, it was followed, it was approved, so let's move on. I admire their entrepreneurship on this issue because at face value it's hard to see the volumes of passenger and freight traffic to make it economical. It's a bit like field of dreams: build it and they will come."