Bianca Bartucciotto
Friday, 9 August 2013
TRANSPORT infrastructure is number one on Western Australian Treasurer Troy Buswell’s agenda this time around, with his latest budget committing to all the infrastructure projects promised at the last election.
Revealing the wave of spending, Buswell told journalists the need to invest became apparent when preparing the budget, which was released yesterday afternoon.
“We make no apology [that] we are spending on this infrastructure,” he said.
“We are very comfortable with the mix we have.”
State debt is expected to blow out to $28 billion over the coming four years as part of the government’s increased spend on infrastructure.
In the next four years $26.9 billion will be invested in infrastructure financed through an increase in debt.
The government locked in $432 million for the Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light rail service, $174 million for the airport rail link and $325 million for the Perth to Darwin Highway.
He also pledged $325 million over the next three years to construct a multistorey car park at Edgewater train station and another $1.8 billion spend on roads.
Additional investment will fund projects such as a revitalisation of the Great Eastern Highway, the Coalfields Highway and Tonkin Highway.
Buswell said the projects would be delivered later than anticipated despite the fact they would start at the same time as expected, adding the delay had nothing to do with funding.
Spending on transportation is expected to be 22% of the total government spend for the budget period.
Source: Industry News