Major transport projects added to infrastructure priority list

The nation’s independent infrastructure advisor Infrastructure Australia has today added three major projects to its Infrastructure Priority List.

Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher said Infrastructure Australia had completed its assessments of the business cases for the Murray Basin Rail and Bringelly Road Stage 2 Projects, and the Melbourne Metro Project.

“The Murray Basin Rail Project and Bringelly Road Upgrade Stage 2 are now regarded as Priority Projects by Infrastructure Australia, and the Melbourne Metro a High Priority Project,” said Minister Fletcher.

“The Australian Government has committed $220 million to the Murray Basin Rail Project which will give farmers from the region access to Victoria’s ports in a more efficient and cost competitive way.

“The Murray Basin Rail Project will help address capacity constraints on the existing freight rail network, which includes standardising rail gauges along the route, as well as increasing axle loadings to 21 tonnes to allow trains to run at full capacity.

“In addition, we are also delivering major upgrades through the $3.6 billion Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan including the $509 million Bringelly Road upgrade. The Australian Government has committed $407 million to this upgrade, which is being delivered in two stages.

The Australian Government welcomes the Victorian Government’s commitment to fully fund the Melbourne Metro project. The inclusion of this project on the Infrastructure Priority List demonstrates the important work undertaken by Infrastructure Australia in identifying and assessing priorities that are capable of being funded independently of the federal Government.

For more information on the Infrastructure Priority List, the assessment process, and to find the three business case assessments, visit http://infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/