Australia’s construction pipeline was valued at $17.6 billion in October, well above the $11.2 billion recorded in September and the five year average of $9.3 billion.
A report by Cordell found 1,945 development applications and proposals nationwide, with several major civil engineering projects pushing the total value to a three-month high. A $1.7 billion wind farm development in Victoria, a $1.1 billion highway upgrade to the Perth-Darwin national highway, and a stage 1 proposal for the Parramatta light rail corridor in NSW.
Despite this bump, projects moving into the construction phase were down.
CoreLogic commercial research analyst Eliza Owen said, “While development applications remain buoyant, Cordell captured just 781 projects moving into the construction stages in October.
“This is far lower than the 5 year average of 1,041 projects per month, though 16.7 percent higher than moved into construction in the previous month. The construction value of projects that commenced over October also increased, by 7 percent on the previous month, to AU$3.8 billion.”
Cordell noted the release of several important documents throughout October that are likely to significantly influence the construction market in NSW going forward.
The Greater Sydney Commission released the draft Greater Sydney Region Plan for 2017, outlining Greater Sydney in 2056 as a ‘metropolis of three cities’. The plan identifies the ‘Eastern Harbour City’, the main Sydney CBD we know today; the ‘Central River City’, which aims to make Parramatta the centre of the Sydney Metropolitan. The third is the ‘Western Parkland’ city, which will centre on the site of the Badgerys Creek Airport. The plan outlines an aspirational ’30 minute city’, in which all homes will be located within a 30 minute commute of a metropolitan centre.
The NSW Government also released its Future Transport Strategy to 2056. The plan emphasises the delivery of metropolitan transport services such as the Sydney Metro North West, Sydney Metro City and Southwest and light rail for the city and Parramatta. It also emphasised future projects that will create greater connectivity in regional NSW, such as new regional train fleets and innovation of regional freight networks.
