<p>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.</p> <p>The official submission, elements of which the <em>Australian Financial Review</em> obtained, shows the State Government had created a “wish list” of vital infrastructure projects it wants help to fund, including some projects which it said were beyond its capacity to fund alone.</p> <p>Key projects rated of national importance at the top of the list included:</p> <p>• A doubling of Brisbane’s inner city rail network for both passenger and freight movements, worth $14.2bn</p> <p>• The Abbot Point project, which is already under way and </p> <p>• The development of Curtis Island at Gladstone Port for the liquefied natural gas industry.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>The expansion will also comprise the construction of the jetty conveyor and transfer towers, including structural, mechanical and electrical works.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Abbot Point is presently used for coal exports from the nearby Bowen Basin.</p> <p>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 <em>AFR</em> reported.</p> <p>Queensland has been a top performer in both areas of growth, consistently outstripping Victoria and New South Wales in recent years.</p> <p>Attempts to further clarify the State Governments submission were not successful at press time. </p> <br />
