World-Class Infrastructure
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Victoria enjoys Australia’s most advanced and best connected system of road, rail and marine transport infrastructure.
It also offers fast, reliable and cost-effective access to utilities.
Infrastructure is vital for growing the productivity of Victoria’s economy and maintaining our renowned liveability. And it is vital to catering for Melbourne’s rapid growth now and in years to come.
Over the past decade, Government investment in infrastructure has quadrupled, with investment over 2008-2009 estimated at A$4 billion.
Mercer’s 2009 city infrastructure rankings rate Melbourne ahead of Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland on indicators such as electricity, water, communications, transport, traffic congestion and airport accessibility.
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Transport
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Melbourne is Australia’s transport hub. Almost 70% of Australia’s population and economic activity are located in the nation’s south east, and Melbourne is ideally located in the centre of this zone of activity.
From Melbourne, Australian and international markets can be accessed with ease, efficiency and at reasonable cost.
The freight and logistics industry is of critical importance to Victoria. It directly adds around A$25 billion annually to the economy, employing more than 100,000 people.
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Air links
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Located less than 20 minutes by road from the CBD, Melbourne Airport is the gateway to southern Australia with over 26 million passengers passing through it in 2010, including 5.5 million international and 20.6 domestic passengers.
It has the lowest cost base of any major airport in Australia.
Melbourne Airport is Australia’s second-busiest airport and one of only two curfew-free airports in the country.
The airport handles 350,000 tonnes of air freight a year, making it Australasia’s largest air freight hub.
The ongoing upgrade of Terminal 2 (T2) is part of a five-year expansion plan representing one of Victoria’s infrastructure projects. The new T2 will improve passenger processing times, increase aircraft parking spaces, and boost the airport’s retail presence.
Melbourne Aiport is complemented by Avalon Airport, 40 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD and 15 minutes from Victoria’s largest regional city, Geelong.
Strategically located in the Asia Pacific, flying time from Melbourne to Singapore is shorter than New York to London.
Twenty-four international carriers operate direct from Melbourne, with almost 500 international flights per week.
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Flying times to major Asia-Pacific destinations |
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| | 7.5h (from Vancouver 15h) |
| | | | | | | | | | | 13h via KL or Singapore (from Chicago 17h) |
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Port of Melbourne
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The Port of Melbourne is one of the world's largest and busiest container port, located on the edge of the CBD.
It handles nearly 40% of Australia’s container trade - about 3,500 ships and 2.14 million containers each year, and A$90 million in exports each day. That’s more than Adelaide, Brisbane and Fremantle ports combined.
The Port achieved record container throughput of 2.348 million TEU in 2010, and moved just under 400,000 motor vehicle units in that year, making it that premier hub for motor vehicle trade in Australia.
What’s more the Port of Melbourne has the lowest wharfage charges in Australia.
The Port is well connected via city bypass highways, as well as daily rail services to Regional Victoria, Metro Melbourne, Adelaide and southern New South Wales.
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Ranked within the world’s top 50 container ports, facilities include 34 commercial berths at five docks, river wharves, Gellibrand Pier (Williamstown) and Station Pier (in the suburb of Port Melbourne).
In November 2009, the Port of Melbourne completed its award-winning Channel Deepening Project, consolidating Melbourne’s status as Australia’s premier container port.
The project has secured the port’s competitiveness for the next 30 years, giving shipping channels 14 metres draught at all tides.
Other major ports in Victoria are Geelong, south-west of Melbourne, and Portland, in Victoria’s West.
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Rail and roads
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Melbourne’s air and port capacity is well supported by extensive road and rail networks, boosted by continuous government investment.
More than A$5 billion of major road projects are currently underway, including the Peninsula Link project, the M80 Ring Road Upgrade and the M1 (Monash-CityLink-West Gate) Upgrade.
Work is underway on a A$4.3 billion Regional Rail Link program, the largest public transport infrastructure project in Australia. It will deliver a new railway line through Melbourne’s west, and standalone tracks for the regional cities of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, improving capacity and reliability.
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Telecommunications infrastructure
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Australia’s has the eighth-largest telecommunications market in the world. The market is deregulated, with local and international players providing competitively-priced services.
Businesses setting up in Melbourne can be assured of outstanding telecommunications services, with connections to the world via a network of satellites and submarine fibre optic cables that ensure seamless global business links.
Melbourne recently cemented its role as the ICT capital of Australia, with the announcement that the National Operations and Test Facility for the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN) will be based at the Digital Harbour development in Melbourne’s Docklands.
Australia is ranked 14th in the world for network readiness, including network infrastructure – ahead of the UK, Japan and Germany.
And The Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest e-readiness rankings - an indicator of the ability of businesses to conduct e-commerce - placed Australia sixth in the world and number one in the Asia-Pacific.
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Real estate
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Melbourne is a highly competitive global business location in terms of cost and availability of commercial property.
A plentiful supply of industrial land accommodates all industrial sectors.
Office space is affordable, easily accessible and well serviced. Melbourne is the most affordable major city in Australia to rent an office, according to a global survey on office space costs.
The 2010 Office Space Across the World report, by global real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, found office rents in Melbourne’s CBD averaged A$400/sqm/year.
Brisbane was higher at A$590/sqm/year, while Sydney was found to have the15th most expensive occupancy rate in the world at A$655/sqm/year.
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Water
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The State Government of Victoria understands the importance of providing business with modern and efficient water infrastructure, particularly in light of the drought.
The A$750m Sugarloaf Pipeline connecting Melbourne’s water supply with the Goulburn River System was officially launched in February 2010. The Sugarloaf provides the biggest boost to Melbourne’s water supply since 1984.
Work is underway on the A$3.1 billion Desalination Plant in Wonthaggi, 120km south-east of Melbourne. The plant is due to commence operations in 2011.
The A$2 billion Food Bowl Modernisation project will provide the Goulburn Murray district – the heart of Victoria’s horticulture industry - with a world-class irrigation system that will reduce water losses.
The A$690m Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline will replace more than 16,000 km of inefficient open channels with reticulated pipeline. The project will supply stock and domestic water across a region covering 10 per cent of Victoria’s total land area.
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Urban renewal & events infrastructure
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Melbourne is the world’s most liveable city and consistently attracts premier international events, from conferences to sporting events.
This status has been secured by investments in infrastructure and urban development, including:
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) - opened in 2009 - is the largest and most versatile convention and exhibition complex in the southern hemisphere.
By the time it’s completed in 2020, the Docklands precinct will double the size of Melbourne’s CBD. The A$12 billion project has so far seen construction of apartments, a A$360 million technology park, and television and film studios. It is emerging as an important financial services hub and the home of major companies such as National Australia Bank and Lend Lease.
In May 2010, the A$268 million AAMI Park Rectangular Stadium opened, with seating capacity of 31,000. It’s the home of rugby teams Melbourne Storm (NRL) and Melbourne Rebels, and A-League team Melbourne Victory.
AAMI Park complements Melbourne’s two other world-class sporting stadiums, the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the state-of-the-art Etihad Stadium. All three venues are conveniently located within 10 minutes walk of the CBD.
Construction is also underway on the A$363 million first stage of the Melbourne Park redevelopment, which will secure the future of Grand Slam tennis in Victoria.
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Australian Government's new National Infrastructure Construction Schedule
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International investors can now access a comprehensive register of Australia's major infrastructure projects, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), with the release of the National Infrastructure Construction Schedule (NCIS).
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Tourism investment
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Tourism Australia, the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (DRET) and the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) have joined forces in a new strategic partnership to promote the many investment opportunities across the Australian tourism industry to foreign and local investors.
A website has been set up as a single destination to assist tourism investment decision-making at www.tourisminvestment.com.au. The website includes several communication tools including for the first-time the Australian Tourism Investment Guide which outlines up to 80 investment ready opportunities and proposed tourism projects, a marketing video and microsite.
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