Road and infrastructure costs for new housing projects in Wollongong's southern suburbs have continued to pile up, with a leading development body now saying at least $1.2 billion is needed to open up access to thousands of new homes.
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The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) has urged both major parties to commit to an investment in local infrastructure projects to make way for 7000 new homes.
The call comes one day after Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery revealed West Dapto access roads would now cost at least half a billion dollars, meaning the council needed state funding to build them.
The UDIA's wish-list includes two new freeway off and on ramps at Dapto worth $37 million, a $44 million upgrade of the Illawarra Highway and improvements to roads along the M1 south of Wollongong.
The Albion Park bypass, which the development body says would cost $600 million, is also listed to "remove a key traffic bottleneck and improve travel times and associated connectivity between the South Coast and the centres of Wollongong and Sydney".
UDIA chief executive Stephen Albin said the state government needed to "give the Illawarra the level of attention the growing region requires".
"The UDIA NSW has written to both the NSW Premier Mike Baird and Leader of the Opposition Luke Foley to urge them to take a strategic approach to infrastructure delivery in the Illawarra," he said.
"Smaller enabling infrastructure projects - such as intersection upgrades, water and sewer main works - are desperately required to address the housing delivery blockages we have in the Illawarra, and this needs to be supported by several larger commitments."
Shellharbour MP Anna Watson agreed the West Dapto development area had been one of her key priorities, and said Labor would be "making some announcements within the next couple of days".
"This is the fastest growing part of my electorate, because by 2031 we're expecting 50,000 people out there and we need the infrastructure to keep up with that," Ms Watson said.
"Obviously it's a flood plain, so we need good access roads and flood mitigation."
Kiama MP Gareth Ward said he would be "happy to entertain and argue for this infrastructure", as the area west of Lake Illawarra was the state's second largest land release area after south-west Sydney.
"We need jobs in this region, and jobs could be created through new housing starts," Mr Ward said.
