Key Facts:
- The 2026-27 NSW Intergenerational Report projects the state’s population will grow to 12 million by 2065-66, requiring two million additional homes and substantial public infrastructure investment, including $118.3 billion in planned spending over four years to 2028-29.
- Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) argues that NSW must plan now for the cement, concrete, stone and sand needed to support this growth, estimating Greater Sydney alone will require at least 500 million tonnes of finished quarry products by 2036.
- CCAA is calling on the NSW Government to develop a coordinated Heavy Construction Materials Plan covering demand mapping, protection of strategic resources, streamlined quarry approvals, freight planning, and modernised procurement standards.
- The organisation warns that pushing quarries and concrete plants further from urban areas increases haulage distances, raising costs, congestion, emissions and construction risk, and argues that land-use reform must protect industrial supply-chain infrastructure rather than displace it.
- With the Intergenerational Report flagging up to $5.8 billion in annual climate-related damage by 2065-66, CCAA is urging government procurement to prioritise durable, resilient and lower-carbon construction materials through performance-based specifications.
Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the release of the 2026-27 NSW Intergenerational Report, saying it provides a compelling case for the State to plan now for the materials required to build the homes, infrastructure and communities of the future.
The Report projects that the NSW population will grow by 3.4 million people to reach 12 million by 2065-66. It also identifies the need for different forms of housing, greater density and continued investment in the public infrastructure required to support a larger and older population.
CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff said the projections made the scale of the construction task unmistakable.
“NSW cannot plan for 12 million people and two million additional homes without planning for the cement, concrete, stone and sand needed to build them,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“Every new home, hospital, school, road, railway, water asset and renewable energy project starts with reliable access to heavy construction materials.
“The question is whether NSW secures these materials locally and efficiently, or pays more to transport them over increasingly long distances.”
The need is not confined to the distant future. The preceding NSW Budget projected $118.3 billion in non-financial public sector infrastructure investment over the four years to 2028-29, including $86 billion in general government infrastructure.
Through its previous submissions and discussions with the NSW Government, CCAA has consistently called for a coordinated NSW Heavy Construction Materials Plan that would:
- regularly map regional demand, available supply, reserves and future capacity against the housing, infrastructure and energy project pipeline
- protect strategic extractive resources, quarries, concrete batching plants, cement terminals, industrial land and freight corridors from encroachment and sterilisation
- establish a permanent Quarry Approvals Coordinator and clearer, time-bound pathways for priority developments and capacity expansions
- integrate materials movements into road, rail, port and first-and-last-mile freight planning
- modernise procurement and technical specifications to support performance-based, lower-carbon and circular construction materials.
CCAA’s NSW Heavy Construction Materials Plan has previously estimated that Greater Sydney alone will require at least 500 million tonnes of finished quarry products by 2036.
“Industry is ready to invest in the capacity NSW will need, but quarries, terminals, concrete plants and lower-carbon production facilities require substantial capital and many years of planning,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“That investment will only occur with confidence if there is greater certainty around land, resources, approvals, freight access and long-term demand.”
The Intergenerational Report assumes long-term labour productivity growth of just 0.8 per cent a year and warns that, without policy change, expenditure will grow more quickly than revenue and place increasing pressure on the State’s finances. It identifies productivity reform as an important way to improve both living standards and the long-term Budget outlook.
“Planning for construction materials is practical productivity reform,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“When quarries and concrete plants are pushed further from the communities and projects they supply, haulage distances increase. That means more truck movements, more congestion, higher emissions, increased construction costs and greater delivery risk.”
CCAA supports the NSW Government’s efforts to increase housing supply and enable more homes near existing transport, employment and services. However, housing and density reforms must not displace the industrial land and supply-chain infrastructure needed to deliver that growth.
“Growing up rather than simply growing out can provide substantial benefits, but a denser city still needs strategically located concrete plants, secure quarry resources and reliable freight access,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“Land-use reform must protect these essential operations rather than progressively sterilise them.”
The Report also projects that direct damage to property and infrastructure from more frequent extreme weather events could reach $5.8 billion a year by 2065-66 under its mid-warming scenario. It calls for climate risks to be incorporated into infrastructure delivery, land-use planning and disaster preparedness.
“NSW will need infrastructure that is durable, resilient and lower carbon,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“Government procurement should set clear performance outcomes and give suppliers the opportunity to bring forward innovative, lower-carbon and circular materials without compromising safety, durability or constructability.”
CCAA stands ready to work with the NSW Government, Infrastructure NSW, relevant agencies and local government to develop a Heavy Construction Materials Plan that brings together housing, planning, resources, transport, environment, infrastructure and procurement policy.
“Doing this now would give industry the confidence to invest, reduce costs and emissions, and help ensure NSW can deliver the homes and infrastructure its communities will need over the next 40 years,” Mr Kilgariff said.
About us:
About CCAA CCAA is the voice of Australia’s heavy construction materials industry, an industry that contributes $20.7 billion to GDP and supports 112,970 jobs nationwide. CCAA members produce most of Australia’s cement, concrete and aggregates, which are essential to the nation’s building and construction sectors.
