The Building Queensland Infrastructure Pipeline Report — a roadmap of priority infrastructure proposals and best practice methods for the coming year — has been welcomed by industry bodies.
There are 16 projects listed in this week’s report, including Brisbane’s Cross River Rail and European Train Control System projects and the Yamanto Interchange to Ebenezer Creek highway project.
The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) welcomed the report and its focus on best-practice planning methods.
“To ensure the best possible use of taxpayer funds, proposed projects must be subject to thorough and transparent cost-benefit analysis that is removed from the political cycle,” Ai Group Queensland director Jemina Dunn says.
“Too often in the past we have seen poor infrastructure investment decisions resulting in wasteful and inefficient outcomes due to a lack of robust pre-delivery project analysis.”
The Queensland Major Contractors Association (QMCA) also welcomed the report, saying it would provide a measure of stability to the sector in the wake of the fall of the mining boom.
“This will bring a greater degree of certainty and opportunity for local business as the mining investment boom continues to fade,” QMCA spokesman Chris Stanley says
“It will also enable the private sector and its supply chain to better harness the skills and resources needed to deliver more cost and operationally effective outcomes for the state.”
The Ai Group also applauded the continuous flow of projects, saying it will help the state achieve its construction potential.
“Building QLD’s prioritisation of projects will help inform Government’s infrastructure investment into the future,” Dunn says.
“Ai Group believes that the pivotal challenge of developing the State’s productive capacity is dependent on the provision of high quality infrastructure projects delivered as part of a consistent pipeline of construction activity.”