About $2 billion needs to be spent on three "game-changing" Illawarra infrastructure projects, according to a consortium led by Regional Development Australia (RDA) Illawarra.
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On Friday the group, which included Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama councils, the Illawarra Business Chamber, Destination Wollongong and the Property Council, met to sign its official transport wish-list when the government divides up its $20 billion poles and wires privatisation fund.
Three long-awaited projects - the M1 (including the extension to St Peters and the Albion Park Rail bypass), a rail upgrade to allow a 60-minute train journey to Sydney and the construction of the Maldon-Dombarton freight line - made the list.
RDA chair Eddy De Gabriele estimated these three projects would need about $2 billion in investment from the state government, but said this was a realistic target as it would be delivered over 10 years.
The group will ask the government to start construction on the M1 between Waterfall and St Peters by 2020 and the Albion Park Rail bypass by 2017.
More than $1 billion should be committed "as soon as possible" to deliver a 60-minute trip between Wollongong and Sydney by 2024. Additionally, $200 million - plus $500 million from the private sector - should be invested in the construction of the Maldon-Dombarton line.
Mr De Gabriele said all three projects would work together to benefit the region, noting faster speeds on the South Coast line could only be reached with the development of the freight track.
"The speed of this passenger rail line is constrained because it's designed to take freight as well," Mr De Gabriele said.
"So, because the government keeps throwing back the technical obstacle of having a fast rail line, we thought we needed to reignite the Maldon-Dombarton line.
"We need Maldon-Dombarton to take the weight of the passenger line and speed up trip to Sydney."
The RDA's collective wish list will be the second such document to be submitted to the government, after Kiama MP Gareth Ward led a "round-table" to collate the regional priorities of the four Illawarra councils earlier this month.
The F6 freeway, Albion Park Rail bypass, Berry to Bomaderry bypass and South Coast rail line were top projects on Mr Ward's list.