Reservoir funding locked in to fast track growth corridor builds
A handbrake to housing construction south of Cairns is expected to be overcome through a multimillion-dollar interest-free loan to build new water infrastructure. Here’s how many homes can now be built.
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A major handbrake to accelerated housing construction south of Cairns is expected to be overcome with the advance of a multimillion interest-free loan to build critical water infrastructure.
On Monday the state government announced Cairns Regional Council would receive $15m for the construction of essential water infrastructure to unlock more land at Mount Peter.
The entire project is expected to cost $18.6m, meaning another interest-bearing loan of $3.6m will also be required to deliver an eight mega litre reservoir and associated trunk water network.
The network will have the capacity to service an additional 500 lots and a future primary school.
Amid a desperate need for affordable housing stock, the new investment will allow land to be developed five or six years earlier than planned, according to the state government.
During a speech to delegates attending the Local Government Association of Queensland at the Cairns Convention Centre, Deputy Premier and State Development Minister Steven Miles said the investment would create additional lots at a time when more homes were needed.
“Queensland continues to experience housing supply challenges and our population growth continues to be the highest in Australia,” he said.
“This investment will fast-track the immediate delivery of 446 lots of residential land in the Mount Peter growth area, helping to address housing supply and affordability.”
Critical infrastructure construction struggling to keep up with the furious pace of development at Cairns’ southern growth corridor has held back development and caused headaches for builders on site.
The deal has been talked about since November last year and now Mr Miles’ office confirmed cash was due to be paid during the next financial year through the Building Acceleration Fund (BAF).
“Growth is a good thing for Queensland, but the accelerated growth – caused by many factors including housing price increases and interstate migration – means we need to take a range of actions to secure more housing options for people,” he said.
“This (BAF) initiative gives industry and council an opportunity to provide housing solutions earlier than anticipated thanks to funding support from the state government.”
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning welcomed the interest-free loan he said would complement a broader water security push.
“This water infrastructure is essential for the future growth of our region and will complement the proposed Cairns Water Security – Stage 1 project, which secures Cairns’ urban water needs from the middle of this decade,” he said.
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Originally published as Reservoir funding locked in to fast track growth corridor builds
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