The Malinauskas Labor Government is delivering major economic opportunities for South Australians today while preparing for tomorrow, with over $1 billion in contracts linked to building a Non-Stop South Road already awarded to local businesses and new State Budget funding helping plan the transport infrastructure needed to support AUKUS.
Over $1 billion worth of River Torrens to Darlington (T2D) contracts have now been awarded to more than 300 South Australian businesses.
Contracting opportunities are being broken down into packages worth up to $1 million, between $1 million and $5 million, and above $5 million, creating opportunities for businesses of all sizes to participate in T2D. South Australian companies involved in fabrication, craneage, concreting, transport, equipment hire and engineering services are among those already benefiting from project work.
The T2D Project has committed to 90 per cent of labour hours being undertaken by South Australians, and will support approximately 5,500 jobs per year during main construction.
As construction of a Non-Stop South Road continues, the Malinauskas Government is also planning for the infrastructure needed on the LeFevre Peninsula to support the once-in-a-generation wave of economic growth anticipated through AUKUS.
With the Osborne Naval Shipyard workforce expected to grow significantly in coming years, yesterday’s State Budget committed $15 million over two years toward an AUKUS planning and business case to identify the transport infrastructure required to support increased demand.
The funding matches an earlier Commonwealth commitment, with the initiative jointly funded by the Albanese and Malinauskas Governments.
The completed Non-Stop South Road will save South Australians up to 40 minutes in peak traffic, allowing commuters to bypass 21 sets of traffic lights.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
The story here is simple: we’re creating jobs today through T2D while planning for the AUKUS jobs of tomorrow.
This is an exciting time for our State and South Australians can be proud.
We are delivering the state’s largest ever infrastructure project and on the precipice of welcoming a Defence project, the scale of which our nation has never before seen.
The investments we are making in creating a Non-Stop South Road are significant, and raise our debt profile temporarily – but the alternative is doing nothing, and letting the state stagnate while our key traffic and freight corridors slow to a crawl.
That is the difference between borrowing because of poor economic management and borrowing to create productive, game-changing infrastructure that will yield a generational return on investment – and more importantly make life easier for commuters and more productive for business.
As put by Joe Szakacs
We made a commitment that South Australians would benefit from the State’s largest-ever infrastructure project, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing with local businesses across a range of industries having already secured work.
We’re not only delivering the final section of a Non-Stop South Road, we’re also ensuring local businesses and workers share in the benefits every step of the way.
At the same time, we’re planning for the future by investing in the transport infrastructure needed to support the growing workforce at Osborne and the opportunities AUKUS will bring to South Australia.
So whether it’s building T2D today or preparing our road network for tomorrow’s workforce, this Government is getting on with the job of building the infrastructure South Australia needs.
