The Queensland Government has released the State Infrastructure Plan (SIP) 2019 Update, highlighting the lowest infrastructure underspend in a decade, the second-highest pipeline of public and private infrastructure projects in the country, and the facilitation of significant private investment throughout Queensland.
The annual SIP update outlines the jobs, projects and investment opportunities being delivered by the Queensland Government.
“Our key priority is to create and support jobs for Queenslanders,” Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning, Cameron Dick, told a peak industry meeting organised by the Infrastructure Association of Queensland, Engineers Australia and Consult Group.
“The next four years will see a $49.5 billion infrastructure investment across Queensland, including $12.9 billion over the next 12 months, which will support up to 40,500 local jobs.”
“More than 160 infrastructure proposals are in the planning phase of the 2019 pipeline, including 67 new projects, and 40 proposals have moved from planning into delivery since 2018 and will be delivered in the next four years,” he commented.
The Minister said that since 2015, the government had focused on reducing capital program under-expenditure so that Queenslanders know the infrastructure promised is being delivered.
“Our careful management will see us achieving a near-zero per cent underspend for 2018-19, the best performance in 10 years.”
“Since 2015, around 207,000 new jobs have been created for Queenslanders, and this updated SIP highlights there are plenty more on the way,” he added.
This year, 60 per cent of Queensland’s infrastructure budget is being invested outside Greater Brisbane, where it is expected to support around 25,500 jobs.
The Minister further said the State Government’s strong infrastructure program underpins and unlocks private sector investment, and that the state’s $147 billion public and private infrastructure pipeline is the second largest in Australia (as reported in the March 2019 Deloitte Access Economics Investment Monitor).
“It shows where and when we are supporting the delivery of new or upgraded hospitals, schools, roads, ports, communication networks – all the social and economy-boosting infrastructure that underpins jobs, growth, investment and prosperity.”
Also included in this year’s update is the new Strategy for Social Infrastructure, which sets out a long-term direction for the planning, design, location and use of schools, hospitals and other vital facilities in the state to provide more efficiently and conveniently located services for Queenslanders.
“The updated SIP program shows how the government’s coordinated approach to investment is planning for and delivering the infrastructure we need now and well into the future, bringing with it jobs, services, economic development and prosperous communities,” the Minister concluded.
The State Infrastructure Plan Part B: Program – 2019 update can be found here.