Melbourne housing estates using explosives to speed development

This is the bizarre moment a Melbourne housing developer detonates 600m of explosives underground at a western suburbs housing estate — and the reason why has been revealed. WATCH THE VIDEO.

Video footage has revealed how Melbourne developers are blowing up chunks of their housing estates in a bid to slash turnaround times for the city’s house and land buyers.

Carefully used explosives are being used to complete civil construction work — that would ordinarily take weeks — in a matter of seconds.

Footage of a blasting technique used at Stockland’s Grandview estate in Truganina shows 600m of sewerage lines being created in just 10 seconds earlier this year.

The developer estimates it would have taken digging crews up to eight weeks to make the trenches the normal way.

The sequenced explosions are over in a matter of seconds.

Dust floats away in the aftermath of the explosions.

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Stockland project director Ed Krushka said the blasting method had not been widely used in Victorian housing estates, but had been implemented in Truganina to “expedite construction of lots for our inaugural home buyers”.

“We use it on a case-by-case basis and particularly look at opportunities whereby using the technique means our home buyers can access their lots earlier,” Mr Krushka said.

Stockland's Grandview estate in Truganina has attracted strong demand from buyers.

Oliver Hume national research director George Bougias said while the city’s average lot had come with an 18 month wait as demand boomed in recent years, reduced sales recently had helped bring the figure down to about 12 months.

“Also, now some stock which had already titled or is soon to be titled is being sold, including some being returned to the market if a sale could not be settled, (and) hence pushing down the average time between sale and title date,” Mr Bougias said.

Explosives were given the green light at the 138ha Grandview estate as it was a new project and does not have sandy or soft clay soil.

The 138ha estate is located about 28 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD.

“From a Work Health Safety Environment perspective, we have strict safety conditions that only allow us to use blast in areas that aren’t populated,” Mr Krushka said.

Stockland were not the only developer using the dramatic approach to prepare housing estates for construction, he added.

The development has house and land packages from $349,000, and has already sold out its first stage.

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About 4500 residents are expected to live in the $525 million estate once it is completed, with schools, transport and community facilities to be among the early stages of its development.

It will be part of a broader Mt Atkinson and Tarneit Plains Precinct, expected to house 22,000 people and create 19,000 jobs.