Tens of millions worth of infrastructure investment will fuel the economic recovery of regional and remote Queensland, with 48 new council projects backed by the Palaszczuk Government’s $365 million Building Regions (BoR) program. The state is partnering with 39 local councils to deliver the projects through BoR Round 5, with hundreds of new jobs set to be created.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said BoR is an investment in the future of Queensland and along with the $200 million boosts for councils under our Works for Queensland program, would play an important part of our COVID-19 recovery. “This funding couldn’t come at a better time for our state, and especially our regions,” the Premier said.

“These projects will support around 350 construction jobs in townships from the Torres Strait to the border of New South Wales, which will help local workers and their families. We want to progress these projects quickly to make sure the benefits are felt sooner in our communities and to give industry increased confidence. We’re working our way through arguably the toughest period in the history of our state, but it’s projects like this which will steer us through.”

Minister for State Development, Tourism, and Innovation Kate Jones said construction was expected to start in the coming weeks. “No matter where you look throughout our state, we’re partnering with councils and the private sector to deliver projects that create jobs,” Ms. Jones said. “Every one of these projects will make a huge difference to Queenslanders living in regional communities. Whether it’s improving water supply and internet connectivity or expanding tourism opportunities, the positive impacts will be felt for generations – long after construction has completed.

“This program will create hundreds of jobs during construction. But we also know these projects will create even more employment opportunities for locals, helping small businesses in these communities and boosting industry supply chains. The threat of COVID-19 can’t stop Queensland moving forward. After some dark days, we’re getting on with building a brighter tomorrow for our state.”

BoR Round 5 focuses on construction and planning projects that will create and sustain long-term employment in regional Queensland. Funding applications were submitted by local governments in August 2019 and have gone through a competitive assessment process by the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, and Planning.

Under previous BoR funding rounds, almost $295 million has been allocated to 223 projects across 66 local government areas in regional Queensland. This work has supported more than 2400 jobs and attracted additional investment of $487 million from councils and other organizations.

Source: Queensland Government