Large infrastructure set to supercharge WA’s economic recovery

WA’s economic recovery from COVID-19 will be supercharged by executing a list of large construction projects that will create more than 20,000 jobs during the construction phase.

Fast tracking these projects is imperative with the looming end of Job Keeper subsidies expected to finished in September and these projects are one lever that the government can pull quickly and effectively to create a positive outcome in the employment sector.

“Public sector works amount to many billions of dollars a year, and so they create jobs while they’re being constructed, and they boost economic activity through the beneficial structure afterwards.” said Civil Contractors Federation WA chief executive Andy Graham.

Projects such as the $852 million Bunbury Outer Ring Road, set to create 4500 jobs during construction, is one of six WA road projects that is set to be fast-tracked to help with the economic recovery. The Tonkin Gap project will create 3,000 jobs the Swan River Crossing in Fremantle is expected to generate 1,400 jobs, the Greater Eastern Highway bypass another 1,200 and the Mitchell Freeway extension around 1,200.

Mr Graham also commented that “the acceleration of projects would result in a jobs boom in the construction industry with every skilled construction worker set to be gainfully employed it the next year or so”.

There is also movement in the mining and resources sector industry with BHP’s $5.2 billion South Flank iron ore project in the Pilbara, FMG’s Eliwana Mine and Iron and Bridge projects and, Rio Tinto’s Robe Valley, Koodaideri and Western Turner projects creating a combined 10,000 jobs.

This is a brief summary of the article ‘Putting us on the road to recovery’ by Meilin Chew | The West Australian | Tuesday 7^th July 2020.