The $100 million put aside for Illawarra infrastructure after the sale of Port Kembla has been dwarfed by the amount Newcastle is set to receive when the state government leases its port.
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The announcement, made in today’s state budget, is the latest privatisation by the O’Farrell government designed to pour funds into the state’s infrastructure. The sale, by way of a 99-year lease, is the centrepiece of Treasurer Mike Baird’s third budget and aims to capitalise on the record price of more than $5 billion received for Port Botany and Port Kembla earlier this year.
Half of the anticipated proceeds - $340 million - will be spent on revitalising Newcastle CBD, including replacing the heavy rail line running through the city with newly announced light rail.
It amounts to 50 per cent of the proceeds of the port sale, compared to the approximately 14 per cent of funds redistributed to the Illawarra from the Port Kembla privatisation.
The balance will go to the government’s general infrastructure fund, Restart NSW.
Port Kembla was leased earlier this year for $760 million, with the Illawarra only receiving a $100 million infrastructure injection.
Additionally, infrastructure projects planned for the Illawarra could be years away as the NSW government delivered just $20 million of the promised amount.
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