Artist’s impression of the Australian Education City project. Image: AEC.
The Victorian government has scrapped a proposed $31 billion smart city development project on a 775-ha government owned site at Werribee, south-west of Melbourne.
The proposed ‘city’ was to cover six million square metres of research facilities, acommodation, education, innovation and commercial space, with residences for 80,000 people and the ability to support up to 50,000 students.
The government made the announcement in a statement by Minister for Priority Precincts Gavin Jennings, announcing that the Expression of Interest process had ended.
‘Following careful examination, the Australian Education City proposal for the East Werribee Employment Precinct will not proceed,’ Minister Jennings’ statement read.
The statement noted the growth in Melbourne’s west, announcing that the government ‘will undertake further work to better understand the investment required to support the region’s transport infrastructure needs, particularly in light of its commitment to the Suburban Rail Loop and Melbourne Airport Rail Link.’
The AEC consortium was backed by the Investors Direct Financial Group, and its website listed project partners PwC, IBM, Honeywell, Cisco, Urbis and Jacobs.
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