$166.8 billion has been announced by the QLD government for future investment
Civil Contractors Federation Queensland has welcomed the QLD state government’s $166.8 billion Infrastructure Program investment in the State Budget but says there is reason to consider the potential impacts of how the infrastructure projects are planned.
The number of projects in the pipeline valued over $1 billion has raised some concerns for CCF QLD, which says it is essential to ensure local contractors can tender for the projects.
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“It is critical to ensure local and regional contractors are directly engaged in order to support the delivery of the pipeline,” CCF QLD CEO Damian Long says.
“Project planning must consider the size of projects to engage all of the market participants. Collaboration from planning through to construction must be a priority.”
As part of the state budget, $1.6 billion has been dedicated to training, upskilling and reskilling Queenslanders into key industries.
CCF QLD has long advocated for more resources to be spent addressing the critical shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry.
Budget highlights for Queensland’s civil construction industry include:
- $41.7 billion over four years to support the Safer Roads, Better Transport Plan
- $9 billion dedicated to the Bruce Highway Targeted Safety Program, which will improve key areas of the highway, jointly funded by the state and federal government
- Increased funding for the Residential Activation Fund
- $130m towards procurement opportunities for small businesses
- $100m for Country Roads Connect, upgrading safety and flood resilience across regional Queensland
- $93m for the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative
- $20m for the Back to Work program.