Planning minister Rob Stokes and parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra Gareth Ward will unveil the new regional strategic document in Gerringong.

They say it will “create jobs, homes and a resilient environment” for the region into the future.

The Illawarra Shoalhaven Regional Plan will focus on Wollongong city centre, the port of Port Kembla, “regional assets” like Shellharbour and Nowra city centres and jobs in growth areas.

It aims to grow the national competitiveness of metropolitan Wollongong – which currently supports 34,000 jobs – through a focus on housing, the health and education precincts and the University of Wollongong.

“Much of the future prosperity of the region will depend on generating new jobs by integrating the city’s five precinct of health, education, the commercial core, waterfront and the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus,” Mr Ward said.

The port of Port Kembla would become a bigger international trade gateway, through a reduction in land conflicts, better use of vacant land and a stronger supporting freight network.

“The port directly and indirectly sustains 3500 jobs,” Mr Ward said. “And that’s worth $480 million to the economy each year.”

The third focus area will aim to drive diversity and innovation in growth sectors like tourism, health, aged care, disability, ICT, education and training, aviation, defence and manufacturing.

The plan also encourages investment in “strategic assets” like Nowra and Shellharbour city centre, the Illawarra airport, Wollongong waterfront and Shell Cove.

Housing is also a major focus for the government, the document says, as the region works to accommodate 35,400 new homes by 2036.

The major release areas will be “West Lake Illawarra” – which takes in West Dapto and Calderwood – and Nowra and Bomaderry.

He said the plan’s focus on monitoring and coordinating infrastructure to support these housing growth areas would be a “watershed” departure from other regional plans.

“So often we’ve seen development occur without support from the government,” he said.

“It’s all good and well to talk about growth, but we need to identify major infrastructure to support that.”

The plan also highlights the importance of the region’s environmental land, like Seven Mile Beach and the Illawarra escarpment.

Mr Ward said more than 40 per cent of the land was judged to have high environmental value and noted the importance of the area’s water catchment, which provides more than 60 per cent of the state’s population with drinking water.

At the same time, a focus on mining jobs will continue.

“The plan commits the government to working with councils in the region to secure the ongoing extraction of mineral resources,” Mr Ward said.

“So the Illawarra will be a mining community into the future, under this plan.”

A coordination and monitoring committee will be set up to implement the plan, and will be chaired by the Illawarra Pilot Joint Organisation (made up from the four Illawarra and Shoalhaven councils) and the planning department.

Mr Ward said these measures  would ensure the plan was actually put in place, and “not just another plan”.

Read more in Wednesday’s Illawarra Mercury.