$2bn jobs boost in Sydney’s new Western Parkland City

The NSW government has committed a $5bn “down payment” towards 200,000 new jobs in Sydney’s Western Parkland City.

The NSW government has committed a $5bn “down payment” towards 200,000 new jobs in Sydney’s Western Parkland City.

Unveiling the blueprint for the Western Parkland City and a road map to its economic development, Western Sydney Minister Stuart Ayres said the strategy represented a fundamental shift in thinking.

“By 2036, the Western Parkland City will account for more than a quarter of NSW’s population growth. The Draft Blueprint and Road map put jobs at the centre of that growth,” Mr Ayres said.

Western Sydney Parkland (pictured) will provide a cool green corridor through Western Parkland City.

He said that over the next 20 years, 200,000 jobs would be created by “building for the long term and aligning our investment with the significant forecast growth and potential”.

“We have committed $5bn to the WestInvest Fund and, together with the Commonwealth, we are investing $20bn in job-creating infrastructure, like the Western Sydney International Airport, the new north-south Sydney Metro line and more than $1bn to develop the Bradfield City Centre,” Mr Ayres said.

Maximising the tree canopy will be a priority to keep hot western Sydney temperatures down in summer.

One of the three hubs outlined in the Greater Sydney Commission’s vision in 2016, The Western Parkland City aims to capitalise on the established centres of Liverpool, Greater Penrith and Campbelltown-Macarthur.

Key developments listed in the new blueprint are extending rail from Leppington to the new Bradfield city and rapid bus links from the Aerotropolis to Liverpool and Penrith.

It also aims to make the area more liveable.

A possum in a spotted gum tree in Western Sydney Parklands

The Western Sydney Parklands Trail Run.

“The Western Parkland City is often one of the hottest places on the planet during summer,” said Mr Ayres, who is also the local member for Penrith.

“The Draft Blueprint prioritises projects that will increase the tree canopy and cool our urban areas, as well as making the Bradfield City Centre Australia’s first hydrogen and electric vehicle-ready, zero-carbon city.”

The blueprint was welcomed by Committee for ­Sydney chief executive Gabriel Metcalf.

“This part of Sydney needs significant investment with effective co-ordination,” he said.

“If there’s a positive from Covid, it’s showing just how important Western Sydney is to our economy, but it’s also shown up the lack of quality infrastructure and services available in the west.”

Key for him was to make sure the Western Sydney Airport Metro was connected to the rest of the rail network.

“This is the first time we have built a city since Canberra and every indication is that we are going to do it better and quicker,” Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue chairman Christopher Brown said.

“This is a project of global scale, building the city of the west, everybody wants to get involved and so we need this blueprint to tell us how we can play a part.”

“We are very keen to get the jobs rolling,” Mr Brown said.