Queensland submits $13bn infrastructure wish list

The Queensland Government has petitioned Infrastructure Australia for a 30% slice of the Rudd Government’s $20bn Building Australia Fund to help pay for projects such as a planned multi purpose port at Abbot Point near Bowen. The official submission, elements of which the Australian Financial Review obtained, shows the State Government had created a &#8220wish list&#8221 of vital infrastructure projects it wants help to fund, including some projects which it said were beyond its capacity to fund alone. Key projects rated of national importance at the top of the list included: &#8226 A doubling of Brisbane’s inner city rail network for both passenger and freight movements, worth $14.2bn &#8226 The Abbot Point project, which is already under way and &#8226 The development of Curtis Island at Gladstone Port for the liquefied natural gas industry. Melbourne construction company John Holland recently won the $287m construction project for the expansion of Abbot Point, which will involve the construction of a second 500-metre long berth about 2.9 km offshore. The expansion will also comprise the construction of the jetty conveyor and transfer towers, including structural, mechanical and electrical works. The State Government hopes the expanded Abbot Point will take some strain off Gladstone, 650 km to the south, as a centre for heavy industry. Abbot Point is presently used for coal exports from the nearby Bowen Basin. Queensland infrastructure minister Paul Lucas called on the federal infrastructure body to allocate the money based on projected economic and population growth instead of just population distribution, the AFR reported. Queensland has been a top performer in both areas of growth, consistently outstripping Victoria and New South Wales in recent years. Attempts to further clarify the State Governments submission were not successful at press time.

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