Our $11.4bn boom town

Major projects across growing Geelong region

MAJOR infrastructure projects worth a combined $11.4bn have either been recently delivered or are proposed, approved or under construction across greater Geelong, according to council.

As of July the projects include a $40m 11-storey office building on Gheringhap St, the $150m Geelong council headquarters, a $40m upgrade at Steampacket House, the $30m stage 2 of Geelong Arts Centre redevelopment and a $13m upgrade at Geelong High School.

The list’s most expensive projects include the $4bn Melbourne to Geelong fast rail, $750m South Geelong to Waurn Ponds rail line duplication, a $689m megaprison at Lara and a proposed rail link to Avalon Airport estimated to cost $250m.

There are 138 major projects, with a value of more than $10m each, that are being built or that are due to be built across the City of Greater Geelong.

Of that list 44 per cent are approved, under way or recently completed, and 56 per cent, or $6.4bn, are in the planning stages.

The projects cover $1.2bn in public buildings and utility projects, $758m in the medical and health industry, $606m in industrial and commercial development, and $569m related to tourism and hospitality.

City of Greater Geelong Deputy Mayor Trent Sullivan said council had set up an online major projects dashboard to provide a resource for the community.

“The new dashboard shows projects worth $11.4 billion are being delivered across the municipality, which is a clear sign of confidence in our regional economy,” Cr Sullivan said.

“Major projects create jobs across the region while delivering the facilities we need to support our growing population.

“Road and transport related projects make up $5.7 billion worth of these major projects, which shows there is a large infrastructure pipeline of projects that will create jobs and stimulate the economy.”

Councillor Peter Murrihy said the data on the dashboard would assist in the development of business cases for current and potential investors and would build confidence in the region.

“The level of investment reflects that Geelong is the fastest growing regional city in Australia and is an attractive place to invest and live,” Cr Murrihy said.

“These major projects demonstrate there is business confidence in Geelong despite the challenging economic environment.”

THE dashboard is available online at: geelongdataexchange.com.au/ pages/projectsv2/