The announcement by the NSW government on Tuesday that additional funding has been set aside for planning the F6, M12, and M9 Outer Sydney Orbital as part of the $1bn commitment to roads in the 2017-18 budget spells good news for Western Sydney, according to the Property Council of Australia.
“Roads will be crucial to connect Sydney with the new airport and Western Sydney with jobs and investment in our CBD and our South West,” said Jane Fitzgerald, the Property Council of Australia’s NSW executive director. “The growing goods economy also means the movement of freight from Kingsford Smith Airport and our ports to Western Sydney and into our CBD and suburbs is incredibly important and the investment in roads supports this growth.”
The F6 will also provide greater access to Wollongong and the Illawarra region, connecting them with the growing South West of Sydney.
“An important aspect to this investment will be corridor protection. Protecting the land where roads will be built is crucial to give certainty to the industry and the community. We will also avoid the compulsory acquisition of property in the future,” Fitzgerald said. “If the land is protected, land planning and development around those roads can begin and the investment in the transport infrastructure can be leveraged. The community is also provided more certainty about where and when land will be developed.”
The state and federal funding that has been made available for road upgrades around Western Sydney Airport is important, and any funding model underpinning new infrastructure shouldn’t impose any additional burden on industry, as this could potentially undermine new investment.
“The F6, M9 Outer Sydney Orbital and the M12 are city shaping pieces of infrastructure that will encourage and facilitate private investment and job creation. Combined with heavy and light rail investment, it means people in our West and South West will have more options to travel,” Fitzgerald said.
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