Image: Queensland Rail
The Palaszczuk government has welcomed the release of Building Queensland’s inaugural Infrastructure Pipeline Report, which sets out for the first time an independent view of the state’s infrastructure priorities.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure Jackie Trad said the delivery of the pipeline report was a major milestone in the government’s commitment to remove politics from infrastructure planning, following the establishment of Building Queensland in December 2015.
Similar to Infrastructure NSW and Infrastructure Victoria, Building Queensland was established as an independent statutory body on 3 December 2015.
Governed by an eight-member board, the majority from the private sector, it provides independent expert advice to Queensland government agencies, state owned corporations and selected statutory authorities to enable better infrastructure decisions.
The report contains 16 priority proposals at various stages of development. Twelve proposals will be considered for further development and the remaining four are ready for investment consideration:
• Cross River Rail – additional rail crossing across the Brisbane River to boost inner city public transport capacity and unlock sustainable urban development
• European Train Control System (ETCS)—Inner City – which will improve network safety, provide additional capacity and deliver operational efficiencies
• Cunningham Highway—Yamanto Interchange to Ebenezer Creek – upgrade to a 4.75km section which will deliver a highway interchange
• Pacific Motorway—Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes – will increase capacity to accommodate traffic volumes and reduce motor vehicle incidents
“As an independent organisation, Building Queensland is able to provide our government with impartial and expert advice on where we should invest the state’s infrastructure funds,” Ms Trad said.
“For the first time, our state now has a clear pipeline of infrastructure projects which have been independently assessed and prioritised based on returns to local communities and our state’s economy.”
“Building Queensland’s Infrastructure Pipeline reaffirms that Cross River Rail is our number one infrastructure priority to unlock essential network capacity and increase economic opportunity and productivity for our state,” said Ms Trad.
“The pipeline report also confirms the importance of our recent $634 million commitment in the 2016-17 State Budget to deliver an ETCS which will pave the way for Cross River Rail.
“The Queensland Government set aside an extra $1.5 billion in the Budget for the next phase of priority infrastructure needs, and now that we have received Building Queensland’s pipeline and independent advice we will be making decisions as to how this is allocated in due course.
“Through our State Infrastructure Plan and our continued work with Building Queensland, our Government is committed to delivering the projects that will sustain the construction industry and create a lasting and beneficial legacy for the people of Queensland.”
The Infrastructure Pipeline Report articulates for the first time priorities across all key sectors and reflects proposals currently under development by Queensland Government departments, government owned corporations and a number of statutory authorities.
According to Alan Millhouse, Chair, Building Queensland Board, Queensland is experiencing considerable demographic change which will increase demand for essential services.
“The provision and maintenance of efficient infrastructure will be critical if Queensland is to capitalise on [opportunities presented by the rise of Asia] and respond to these changes.”
“Building Queensland ‘s Infrastructure Pipeline Report provides an independent appraisal of the Queensland Government’s infrastructure proposals currently under development, which Building Queensland considers should be priorities for the state.
The full report is available at buildingqueensland.qld.gov.au
