Pad out the pipeline to avoid industry wipe-out

Padding out the project pipeline and more agility in approvals are some of the strategies floated to ensure a key sector’s survival.

MAJOR upgrades are set to begin on a major Sunshine Coastt entry/exit point and notorious congestion hotspot - the Maroochydore Road/Bruce Highway interchange. Photo Patrick Woods / Sunshine Coast Daily.

PADDING out the project pipeline and more agility in approvals are some of the strategies industry experts say will help the infrastructure and construction sectors survive and eventually thrive again.

Ray Shadforth, director of prominent civil contracting firm Shadforth, said he felt the region was well-positioned to benefit from government spend in infrastructure, with so many 'shovel-ready' projects.

"That's a good thing that they're at the stage they are," he said.

He said major works were often good for local plant hire companies, but the broader benefits for the region's plumbers, chippies and other sole traders typically came from private and local government work including residential land subdivisions.

Mr Shadforth said he was hopeful that local and state governments would become "more agile" in their approval processes in response to the pandemic, to support the industry.

"That really will be what will affect the local economy the most," he said.

He said developers with money, ready to invest in the likes of 50 or 100-lot subdivisions around the region were ones council should be focusing on, to ensure approvals and the flow of work in the industry.

Mr Shadforth said the construction industry had been heavily affected already, but he felt the real impacts wouldn't arrive until August-September.

NEW NAME: Director of one of Queensland's largest privately owned civil contracting firms, Ray Shadforth.

He said it was a "time for survival now", and said his company had been looking to diversify their work and explore other regions, in a bid to ride out the effects of the pandemic.

Master Builders Association Sunshine Coast regional manager Will Wilson said there was real concern with the construction pipeline in the region.

"The inquiry rates for residential and commercial work have fallen off a cliff and what that means is that when the projects on the go now are finished, there is nothing for the industry to get on with," he said.

He tipped the housing sector to start to "feel the pinch" in the next few months, while the commercial market would likely suffer in the September quarter and beyond as projects finished.

"On a local level, there is a need for action," Mr Wilson said.

"A reduction of infrastructure charges as well as deferring these costs to the end of a project would go a long way to increasing the feasibility of development with the economy in such a fragile state.

"A reduction of the time to get development approved would ensure that the disruption to the pipeline of work is minimised and extending approvals for projects that have not been able to commence due to finance will mean that more will proceed as we start to see an improvement in the economy."

Fairfax MP Ted O'Brien said infrastructure had an important role to play in the economic recovery post-coronavirus.

"First and foremost, we must deliver the work that's begun and get started on new work for which we've secured the money," he said.

"In other words, in 2020 we need to complete the Bruce Highway upgrades between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway and complete the upgrade of the Sunshine Coast International Airport while starting work on the Bruce Highway at the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges and the long awaited Beerburrum to Nambour rail upgrade."

Mr O'Brien said identifying shovel-ready projects would also be vital.

"Indeed, more innovative financing arrangements between businesses and governments should be explored so we're giving good projects every possible chance to get off the ground," he said.

THE NUMBERS:

Master Builders and Australian Bureau of Statistics:

-Dwelling approvals down 11.6 per cent in March compared to February

-Master Builders Association forecasts Queensland's new dwelling starts to plummet over the coming months - down 26.4% in 2019/20 and down again in 2020/21 by 30.7% before finally returning in 2021/22 (up 31.4%) as the stimulus unfolds and restrictions are lifted

Federal Government:

-Federal funding committed to the region includes: $3.09 billion on Bruce Highway (2016-18 to 2019-20), $395.6 million on rail from 16/17 to 19/20, $181 million concessional loan (now with State Government), from 16/17 to 19/20 and $38.9 million on local roads from 14/15 to 19/20.

State Government:

-Coast projects announced as part of the $400m coronavirus recovery roads package:

$18 million for a new two-lane bridge over Six Mile Creek

$9.5 million to build a new roundabout at the Beckmans Road and Cooroy-Noosa Road intersection

$3.75 million to install traffic lights at the Ridgewood Road and Caloundra Road intersection

-Infrastructure spend for financial year 2020-2021 for Sunshine Coast and Moreton region is $1.5 billion, which included:

$10.2m out of $86.2m for Nambour Hospital to reconfigure hospital to subacute facility

$47.4m out of $106.7m for Suncoast subtransmission powerline project

$2m out of $8.1m to redevelop USC Stadium and Lightning HQ

$38.5m out of $131m for Palmview primary school, special school and early works for future high school

$24m out of $83m for new Baringa State Secondary School

$50m out of $550m for Beerburrum to Nambour upgrade in conjunction with Feds

$4.8m out of $66m to expand IT services at SCUH

$15m towards $35m for SC International Broadband Network, projected to generate $1b for Qld economy

Originally published as