Melbourne’s northwest and southeast suburbs to get a transit turbocharge

Infrastructure projects in two booming areas of Melbourne are set to be fast-tracked as part of a plan to turbocharge development and manage soaring population growth.

New roads, rail lines and other big infrastructure projects are set to be fast-tracked throughout Melbourne’s suburbs as part of a plan to manage soaring population growth.

Long-awaited rail upgrades, a third Melbourne airport and development of the Outer Metropolitan Ring Rd could all be part of the pact.

The Morrison Government will begin talks with the Victorian government and local councils within weeks on ­establishing two City Deals covering Melbourne’s southeast and northwest.

The plans would bring all three levels of government ­together on an agreed set of ­infrastructure, employment, housing and liveability priorities, with funding locked in for a suite of projects.

The Southeast Melbourne City Deal would cover about 1.5 million people and include at least eight local government areas taking in Cranbourne, Berwick, Narre Warren, Chadstone, Clayton, Glen Waverley, Oakleigh, Pakenham and the Mornington Peninsula.

Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge. Picture: AAP

The final boundaries for the Northwest Melbourne City Deal are still to be negotiated, but it would likely cover more than 2 million residents and ­include the suburbs of ­Broadmeadows, Essendon, Tullamarine and Sunshine.

Federal Cities Minister Alan Tudge told the Herald Sun his vision for Melbourne was for people to be able to “live, work and play” in the same area.

“We need to have the discussions with the councils and the state government to assess their level of interest in fully participating in this,” Mr Tudge said. “If there is a strong desire, then we will go through a consultation process, we will lay out some of the priorities and then we will work through to final commitments that each of us will be able to bring to the table over a 10-to-20-year horizon.”

Mr Tudge said the deals would take between 12 and 18 months to be sealed.

In the southeast, projects on councils’ list of priorities include road and rail upgrades, a rail shuttle linking the Port of Melbourne with Dandenong and an international airport.

MORE: TOP COP SUSPENDED, CHARGED OVER LEAKS

IS THIS AUSTRALIA’S CLEANEST SUPERMARKET?

In the northwest, proposals could include a push to build the Outer Metropolitan Ring Road — a 12-lane super-highway around Melbourne’s outskirts — and accelerating the development of freight hubs.

The deal would also look at how to best take advantage of the Morrison Government’s $7 billion in funding commitments for the Melbourne airport rail link and the Geelong-Melbourne fast rail line.

[e-mail]