Newly released figures from Inland Rail show that the 1,600-kilometre freight rail line has now spent close to $500 million, with nearly 750 local companies on the Inland Rail alignment since construction on the project started in 2018.
The line will connect Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
At the end of September 2024, Inland Rail had spent $496 million with local companies, with around $100 million with local companies over the past 12 months alone as construction has continued in the Beveridge to Albury (B2A) section in Victoria and commenced in Stockinbingal to Parkes in New South Wales.
Regional businesses are set to further benefit from Inland Rail construction over the next year with tranche two works set to launch shortly in the Beveridge to Albury section and environmental approvals secured for Albury to Illabo and Illabo to Stockinbingal which is expected to begin construction next year.
Of the $496 million spent so far, about $46.5 million has been spent with 36 First Nations businesses in regional Australia, with $7.5 million spent in the past year.
Inland Rail has also continued to be a major jobs provider in regional Australia, with the project providing nearly 6,300 jobs at end-September, with just over half of these jobs being filled by local residents and nearly 480 First Nations workers employed.
Stephen Jones, Inland Rail Executive Director Program Health, Safety, Environment & Sustainability, said Inland Rail is proud to be supporting local businesses.
“As we deliver Inland Rail across Victoria and New South Wales, construction is bringing benefits to regional communities, with local content key to the program’s success,” he said.
“Inland Rail has worked extremely hard to engage with local businesses and help to bring them on board as suppliers, and these latest figures demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
“A major focus of Inland Rail has been to build skills in communities along the alignment, so local communities can participate and benefit from in this once-in-a-generation project and others in the future.”