Out-Law News 1 min. read
03 Mar 2021, 1:31 am
An advisory group has published its list of what it thinks Australia's infrastructure priorities should be. It consists of 44 new nationally-significant infrastructure proposals which would cost A$59 billion ($46.4bn) to build.
Infrastructure Australia's Infrastructure Priority List includes five priority projects, 13 high priority initiatives and 26 priority initiatives, which cover transport, energy, water, waste, telecommunications, and social infrastructure projects.
George Varma, an infrastructure specialist at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said: "Governments across Australia have been pulling the infrastructure lever to support their economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The federal government has also committed significant new funding for infrastructure projects in its 2020-21 budget.”
“In Western Australia in particular, rising commodity prices have contributed to a billion dollar surplus, a significant portion of which we expect will be committed to the state government's infrastructure priorities such as METRONET and the new maternity hospital to replace the ageing King Edward Memorial Hospital.”
“In that context, it is positive to see that Infrastructure Australia has released an ambitious set of infrastructure priorities to support Australia's continued economic recovery and growth,” he said.
10 projects have been moved from the priority list to the construction stage.
The themes of the 2021 Infrastructure Priority List include opportunities to develop export gateways to support Australia’s international competitiveness, investment in new sources of energy, water security, regional infrastructure that drives economic development, service quality, digital connectivity, and digital health services.
Infrastructure Australia is an independent statutory body that is responsible for advising Australia's state and federal governments on infrastructure priorities.
The Infrastructure Priority List is updated by Infrastructure Australia every year and provides an overview of Australia's nationally significant infrastructure needs. It provides state and federal decision-makers with independent advice and guidance on the country's infrastructure priorities.
