Infrastructure Australia has updated its Infrastructure Priority List with 100 projects and initiatives identified as national priorities.
“This is the infrastructure that Australia needs, to boost our quality of life and our economy,” said Infrastructure Australia Chair Mark Birrell.
“The newly revised List features projects in urban centres and across the country that will improve connectivity and productivity. It now includes seven High Priority and 11 Priority Projects and the highest ever number of projects with approved business cases."
Three of the seven high priority projects are in NSW: the M4 Motorway upgrade from Parramatta to Lapstone, the WestConnex motorway and the proposed western Sydney airport. Two are in Victoria: The Melbourne Metro rail project and the M80 Ring Road upgrade. The other two are the Perth Freight Link in Western Australia and the Ipswich Motorway upgrade from Rocklea to Darra in Queensland.
The Priority Project list includes two projects in South Australia: the Adelaide Tarcoola rail upgrade acceleration, and the Eyre Infrastructure Project; plus one in Tasmania: the Hobart Science and Technology Precinct.
“A notable inclusion on the List is a proposal to renew central Hobart through the relocation of the University of Tasmania's STEM Facilities to the CBD," said Birrell.
"It is the first education project to be approved by the independent Infrastructure Australia Board and identified as a Priority Project. This visionary proposal by the University has been assessed by Infrastructure Australia as nationally-significant because it would boost Australia's STEM skills and research capability and further support the development of high-value science, technology, engineering and mathematics related industries in the Hobart CBD.
The updated Priority List also includes 25 High Priority Initiatives and 57 Priority Initiatives. These are proposals that have been identified to potentially address a nationally-significant problem, but require further development. New High Priority Initiatives on the List include mass transit options for Parramatta to the Sydney CBD in NSW and the remaining sections of Ipswich Motorway in southeast Queensland.
[Perth's southern suburbs. Photo: Pixabay]