Avalon jobs boom
Cotton On centre will spur lift-off at regional airport
WORK has begun on the Avalon Airport industrial precinct, anchored by a massive Cotton On distribution centre that will be able to deliver 100 million items annually by late next year.
The State Government is confident Cotton On Group’s 35,000sq m distribution centre will be just the beginning of a process that will lure major businesses and transform Avalon Airport into an industrial mini-city.
Premier Daniel Andrews joined business and community leaders yesterday to launch the project, which he said was “the dream of many, delivered”. “The Cotton On deal is the first, but there’ll be many more that follow it,” Mr Andrews said.
“We’re going to see, in the months and the years to come, not hundreds of jobs here as a part of the Avalon industrial precinct, but many thousands of jobs.”
Mr Andrews promised the State Government would support the partnership and the Geelong community “every step of the way”.
“I think this is going to be a very, very attractive place for people to come and relocate, to do business — not just from Melbourne but perhaps bringing companies from around the region, around Australia and around the world to come and headquarter here,” he said.
Linfox airports group executive chairman David Fox, who worked in partnership with the Cotton On group on the deal, said the scope of the project was enormous.
“I don’t think you can really fathom just how big of a project this is going to be,” Mr Fox said.
The initial Cotton On investment will provide 200 local jobs with the company, followed by 750 jobs during the construction phase and an expected 1100 indirect jobs beyond that.
But Mr Fox said he believed the site could potentially pro- vide a staggering 10,000 jobs by 2027.
“The 10,000 number . . . is very, very possible within this particular site alone within the next five to 10 years — that is a reality, from my particular point of view,” he said.
Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson, whose government fast-tracked work on the Department of Defence land by cutting approval red tape, said the project was an “absolute game changer”.
“We have a vision that this can be a place that in the future will house 10,000 jobs, and we’re well on the way to getting that vision under way,” Ms Henderson said.
“This is the beginning of what we hope will be an absolute game changer.”
Cotton On chief financial officer Michael Hardwick said the distribution centre would be fully operational by Christmas next year, and “capable of delivering over 100 million units”.
Mr Hardwick praised the “fantastic result” and thanked the state and federal governments for their support, which he said had enabled Cotton On to keep jobs in Geelong.
Work will now begin on the initial 40ha site, with plans to develop the entire 340ha precinct as more businesses came on board.
“The rabbits are s...ting themselves,” Mr Fox said.