Victorian State Budget 2014-15 – summary of infrastructure investments

Overview

The 2014 / 2015 Victorian State Budget, 'Building a Better Victoria' was announced in parliament yesterday afternoon by the Treasurer, the Hon Michael O'Brien MP. The overview can be found here.

Here we provide a summary of the Government's commitments and budget initiatives relating to infrastructure across the State.

• Infrastructure investment of up to $27 billion with $24 billion in major new rail and road projects
• Takes the total value of State-wide public infrastructure projects underway, including public private partnerships, to $72 billion
• Transformational infrastructure to drive economic growth and connect Melbourne to the regions and export markets (such as support for a Port-Rail Shuttle (Metropolitan Intermodal System))
• Support for development of Port of Hastings as Melbourne's second major port
• The investment will be funded by:
• • "asset recycling" the proceeds of a medium term lease of the Port of Melbourne
  • the sale of the Rural Finance Corporation
  • Commonwealth infrastructure funding as part of the asset recycling initiative agreed at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on 2 May 2014
  • funding from private sources.

Key Integrated Transport Infrastructure projects

Road and rail infrastructure projects have a significant focus in the budget with Melbourne Rail Link and Stage 2 of East West Link being the two biggest asset projects.

Melbourne Rail Link - $8.5 to $11 billion for the construction of:

• A new underground tunnel from Southern Cross to South Yarra via Fisherman's Bend:
• • three new stations - two underground stations at Montague (Fisherman's Bend) and Domain and one station above ground at Melbourne Airport
  • new underground platforms at Southern Cross Station and South Yarra to facilitate interchange between services
• The Airport Rail Link train service:
• • New electrified service between Melbourne Airport and CBD
  • Will run along dedicated tracks from a new station at Melbourne Airport to Albion in Melbourne's west where it will join the existing rail network and run through to Southern Cross Station.
• The project is scheduled to begin mid-2016 with construction mid-2017. Once complete, Melbourne's metropolitan rail network will be made up of six standalone end to end lines.

East West Link (Stage 2) - $8 to $10 billion for the construction of Stage 2 (Western Section):

• Will deliver a 12 kilometre connection from the East West Link – Eastern Section to the Western Ring Road
• Construction from late 2015

Cranbourne-Pakenham Rail Corridor Project – $2 to $2.5 billion for:

• 25 next generation, high capacity trains
• 21st century high-capacity signalling
• Four level crossings removed (Murrumbeena (Murrumbeena Road), Carnegie (Koornang Road), Clayton (Clayton Road & Centre Road)
• Planning for removal of further five (Corrigan, Heatherton and Chandler Roads, Noble Park, Carnegie, Murrumbeena and Carnegie (Grange Road)
• Redevelopment of Clayton, Carnegie and Murrumbeena stations for this growth corridor and a new train depot
• Construction from early 2015

Citylink – Tulla widening – $850 million will be invested in partnership with private sector to:

• Add an extra lane on Citylink in each direction between the Bolte Bridge and the Tullamarine Freeway just north of English Street in Essendon Fields
• An additional lane on a section of the Westgate Freeway (eastbound) between the Bolte Bridge and Power Street
• Construction from early 2015

Removal of railway crossings – over $1 billion for:

• Removal of a further four level crossings at Ormond, Blackburn, Glen Iris, St Albans ($685 million)
• Part of the Cranbourne-Pakenham Rail Corridor Project removal of crossings (refer above)

Regional infrastructure projects

• $180 to $220 million for the Murray Basin Rail Project:
• • major country rail freight upgrades and standardize the key Mildura to Geelong rail link
• $362 million for the Princes Highway West Duplication Project
• $73 million to upgrade the Latrobe Regional Hospital
• $500 million package of works to construct new schools in growth areas and modernise school infrastructure and secure land to build schools for the future
• $73 million to construct and maintain new Shepparton Law Courts
• $15 million Bendigo Aquatic Centre
• $86 million – new intersection on the Calder Highway at Ravenswood near Bendigo

Education infrastructure

• $500 million for:
• • new schools in growth communities
  • upgrades for existing schools
  • land acquisitions to meet demand in growth corridors (12 new schools to be delivered including 11 through public private partnerships)
• The Government is exploring opportunities for non-government education providers to express interest in purchasing and using vacated educational sites (200 sites).

Health infrastructure

• $223 million will be invested in new capital projects
• $73 million to increase capacity at the Latrobe Regional Hospital
• $14 million for the Boort Hospital redevelopment
• $28 million for new Barwon Health – North facility
• $60 million to replace and improve medical equipment and State-wide infrastructure
• $25 million to establish the headquarters of the National Disability Insurance Agency in Geelong

Social infrastructure

• $140.8 million for additional prison beds at various locations (including upgrades to the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Beechworth Correctional Centre and Langi Kal Kal Prison)
• $12 million to relocate the Victorian Police mounted Branch from South Melbourne to redeveloped stables at Attwood
• $8 million to build new police station and emergency hub in Ballarat West growth area
• $12.7 million to build a new 24-hour police station in Echuca
• $4.8 million to relocate St Kilda Road Police Station

Arts, Culture, Sports and events

• $366 million for stage two of the Melbourne Park redevelopment including pedestrian bridge over Batman Avenue
• $16.4 million building upgrade to Art Centre Melbourne and National Gallery

Other initiatives

• $130 million for additional road funding for road maintenance and restoration $50 million for transport solutions (Regional Roads Package)
• $32 million for the Sand Road interchange, Princes Highway East
• $11 million for the Princes Highway East passing lanes (Hospital Creek, Dinner Creek and Wombat Creek)
• $44 million to upgrade fire and emergency equipment in the City Loop

Planning and environment

• $51.6 million over four years to the Metropolitan Planning Authority to implement Plan Melbourne
• Funded by a new metropolitan planning levy on planning permit application fees for projects worth more than $1 million
• Funding for works to commence on:
• • Major employment clusters at Monash, Latrobe and Sunshine
  • Fisherman's Bend urban renewal
  • Framework for expanding the central city
  • A metropolitan-wide open space strategy
• Planning for urban renewal areas at Cremorne, Colingwood and along railway corridors from Huntingdale to Dandenong, Brunswick to Batman, and North Richmond to Victoria Park
• $11.2 million over four years for supporting local government in delivering major urban renewal sites, a local pocket park fund and a 20-minute neighbourhood fund.
• $13.4 million to boost national park assets

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