Northern NSW industries eye potential freight hub future – EY report
Regional communities across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland will benefit from a boost of up to $13.3 billion in Gross Regional Product over the next 50 years off the back of Inland Rail’s construction, according to a new report from EY (formerly Ernst & Young) on behalf of the Australian Government.
July 1, 2020
The in-depth study by EY indicates how industry investment in infrastructure integrating with Inland Rail could generate billions in added value for regional communities over the first 50 years of the line’s operation.
The long-term economic uplift is in addition to the $16 billion in gross domestic product delivered by Inland Rail during construction.
According to the report, Northern NSW could accommodate a network of inter-modal freight hubs which can sustain the prosperity of several growing industry sectors and service Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in the first decade after Inland Rail becomes operational.
The Parkes, Narrabri and Moree regions could emerge as rail-to-rail freight hubs with direct connections to Inland Rail and the Newell Highway for industry sectors including transport, logistics, warehousing, food processing and manufacturing.
The EY report suggests abattoir and grain mill expansions may also emerge within the first 10 to 30 years of Inland Rail operations to support increasing domestic and export demand for northern NSW meat and grains.
Primary producers in the Narromine and Narrabri regions could also potentially benefit from the easier access to processing centres which Inland Rail will support.
Click here to read the full report.
