Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner sheds light on SEQ City Deal $450m bus interchange centrepiece

The $450m bus interchange at the centre of South East Queensland’s City Deal will require expensive land acquisitions and “quite extensive” underground works.

The $450m bus interchange at the centre of South East Queensland’s City Deal will require expensive land acquisitions near the Gabba and “quite extensive” underground works, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has revealed.

Cr Schrinner, speaking on Friday at a Property Council panel discussion on the SEQ City Deal, provided the first details on the expensive infrastructure centrepiece since the 20-year pipeline of projects was announced in March 2022.

The $450m interchange, connecting Brisbane Metro to the Cross River Rail in the Gabba area, is one of the most expensive anchor projects of Australia’s eight City Deals — eclipsing the initial $250m put toward the North Queensland stadium.

Cr Schrinner confirmed the multimillion-dollar price tag was in part due to land acquisitions required, extensive tunnelling work for the underground interchange and the need to shift the current bus parking area.

“It’s a major underground Metro station effectively and … there is property acquisitions that need to happen as well … There’s no cheap property left in the Gabba area unfortunately,” he said.

It is understood acquiring land will cut into the project’s budget significantly, with speculation of purchases around the $70m mark.

The exact parcels that will be needed have not been finalised.

Artist’s impression of the Woolloongabba Station Plaza

The SEQ City Deal was reached after three years of at-times-bitter negotiations between the state and former federal government.

It involved a $1.8bn pipeline of projects, with the new federal government making no changes to the nearly $400m funding pot set aside over the next few years.

But Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Steven Miles, who was also on the panel discussion, said he expected the new government to “put their own stamp” on how parts of the project are implemented.

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King was unable to attend the event held on Friday.

Cr Schrinner said the City Deal had “passed its first test” — surviving a change of government.

“The whole thing was set up to survive changes of government, that is the reality, because we know there’s other commitments that are made by various sides that don’t survive elections,” he said.

Cr Schrinner also signalled the City Deal was a living document, with the possibility of more projects being added over its lifetime as business cases with funding set aside in the agreement are finalised.

The three levels of government are due to release the implementation plan for the SEQ City Deal by the end of the year.

Other projects in the deal include a $285 million Liveability Fund to “deliver improved community facilities, urban amenity or enhanced liveability, and support environmental infrastructure and open spaces”, $150 million for a Innovation Economy Fund, and $105 million for a recycling plant.