Victoria Green Lights Mega Projects to Boost Economy
Federal and State governments around Australia are looking at ways to boost the economy and drive us out of a likely Corona Virus led recession. And major construction and infrastructure projects are high on their list. Here’ an excerpt from an interesting article by The Urban Planner on how Victoria is moving forward by ‘green-lighting’ several ‘mega’ projects to boost their economy.
The Urban Planner – Victoria Green Lights Mega Projects to Boost Economy 24 April, 2020
Approvals for four major projects, including the country’s tallest residential tower, has been fast-tracked in Melbourne following the formation of a high-level planning taskforce.
The taskforce, spearheaded by Victoria’s planning minister Richard Wynne and treasurer Tim Pallas, will now identify and recommend large-scale projects that can be fast-tracked for approval and commencement, in a bid to boost the state’s pandemic-hit economy.
Former Lendlease Victoria head Roger Teale, Victorian Planning Authority chairwoman Jude Munro and chief executive of government agency Solar Victoria Stan Krpan are also on the taskforce.
The collective will now advise on financial incentives and current revenue measures—such as land tax, developer contributions, fees and rates—and make recommendations to boost business and fast-track investment.
Officials said the taskforce would run for an initial period of three months, reporting back to the state government with recommendations.
The combined approved projects, worth more than $1.5 billion in building costs alone towards Victoria’s economy aims to prop up the struggling development industry over the short, medium and long term.
They include Malaysian-backed Beulah’s $2 billion mixed-use Southbank by Beulah development, Charter Hall’s $1.5 billion office project at 555 Collins Street, Dexus’ $650-million 52-60 Collins Street commercial project and Pace Development’s $300 million residential project at 550 Epsom Road in Flemington.
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Image curtesy of The Urban Planner
