Significant infrastructure spending will continue on the Gold Coast long after the 2018 Commonwealth Games end with new data revealing $10.5 billion worth of projects yet to drop. While it is expected there will be a downsize in infrastructure development after the Games end, the Gold Coast Infrastructure Report compiled by Urbis reveals a high number of new projects across the city. The report shows a total of almost $13.2 billion in projects recently completely, under construction or planned on the Gold Coast and Northern NSW.
Projects completed in the past 12 months account for almost 20 per cent of the total, leaving around $10.5 billion of infrastructure development underway or in planning. Report author Lynda Campbell said a further breakdown of that figure revealed that nearly 200 projects worth almost $7.3 billion were still in the planning phase. Ms Campbell said the transportation sector was attracting the most spending ($4.2 billion), followed by tourism ($2.2 billion) taking in hotels, motels and theme parks. “Some of these projects are the $615 million third stage of the Gold Coast Light Rail from Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads, the second stage of the $300 million Gold Coast Airport Masterplan and the $104 million upgrade of Bundall Road,” Ms Campbell said. “Other major areas of infrastructure spending include the retail sector with $1.45 billion, retirement villages and aged care facilities at $952 million, and health with $737 million.”
Gold Coast real estate figure Andrew Bell said the report highlighted how the city would continue to grow and prosper after the Games. “There really is a strong and certain pathway forward for the Gold Coast with such a wealth of infrastructure planned in a diversity of areas in the medium to long-term,” Mr Bell said. “It is an extremely reassuring sign that the Games are not just an enormous blip on the Gold Coast’s radar and that progress on several key fronts will continue to be a hallmark of the city’s economy for years to come.”
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