Townsville Enterprise says projects worth $33b planned for North Queensland

In what is being touted as an ‘historic upswing’, more that 60 projects worth $33b are planned for North Queensland before the end of the decade.

An artist's rendering of what the CopperString site in Hughenden will look like when completed. North Queensland has firmly established itself as a major economic force in Australia, with the value of projects planned through to the end of the decade soaring to $33 billion. Picture: Supplied

In what is being touted as an “historic upswing”, more that 60 projects worth $33 billion are planned for North Queensland before the end of the decade.

Townsville Enterprise said that 63 investment projects for the 2024-2029 period outlined in a new report firmly established North Queensland as a “major economic force in Australia”.

TEL CEO Claudia Brumme-Smith said the growth had been driven by investment in the region’s abundant natural resources, and spanned a number of sectors, including transport, water, energy-transition infrastructure and mineral-resource development.

“North Queensland has positioned itself globally as a strong player in metals refining, battery manufacturing and green-energy production.”

“There is a big focus on extracting, refining, and manufacturing commodities into high value-add products for world markets.”

Townsville Deputy Mayor Paul Jacob said the exciting portfolio of 63 projects worth $33 billion painted a bright future for the North as one of Australia’s key engines of growth. Picture: Chris Burns

Ms Brumme-Smith said the project pipeline spanned a number of sectors, including transport, water, energy transition infrastructure and mineral resource development.

“More than 5,000 new ongoing jobs will be required to deliver on these 63 investment projects, and 17,200 construction jobs will be supported by these projects,” she said.

“This forecast is important because it focuses attention on the vital need to manage the challenges associated with delivering this massive pipeline of work including managing costs, the major human and resource requirements, including attracting workers, and the need to lift regional productivity to maximize the value to our region.”

Townsville Enterprise CEO Claudia Brumme-Smith said growth had been driven by investment in the region’s abundant natural resources. Picture: Evan Morgan

Townsville City Council Deputy Mayor Paul Jacob said the project portfolio “painted a bright future for the North as one of Australia’s key engines of growth”.

“Our vision as a council is to grow Townsville and the type and diversity of investment will build greater prosperity for all,” he said.

“As a council, our focus is on investment in infrastructure and core services to support this growth, which will include the need to cater for an additional 20,000 skilled workers in the region in the years to come.”

According to the North Queensland Project Pipeline report, all 63 investment projects exceeded $10 million and 44 per cent exceeded more than $250 million each.

The regional project breakdown:

• Townsville: 39 projects valued at $17.7 billion

• Townsville Surrounds (Burdekin, Charters Towers, Hinchinbrook): 10 Projects valued at $6.1 billion

• Queensland Outback (Flinders to Mount Isa): 13 projects valued at $4.3 billion

The resources and energy sector dominate the project pipeline, with 29 projects valued at an estimated $25.4 billion, representing more than 75 per cent of the total project pipeline value.

Originally published as Townsville Enterprise says projects worth $33b planned for North Queensland