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Infrastructure boom drives Toowoomba to top 10
It isn’t a case of the chicken and the egg when it comes to infrastructure and businesses: bring the infrastructure and the businesses will come.
New data shows that four suburbs, located more than 30km from a major CBD, made the top 10 suburbs for most business registrations in 2016.
Toowoomba, in seventh spot, featured in the national in the top 10 list of highest ABN/ACN registrations.
(Source 07/02/2017 The Brisbane Times - The Infrastructure boom drives Toowoomba to top 10)
It begs the question: what do these outer suburbs or regions have in common for the latest surge in new businesses?
The one clear thing connecting Toowoomba, Werribee (VIC) and Liverpool (NSW) in recent times is the huge amount of infrastructure investment, particularly in transport and new housing.
Currently, Toowoomba has the perfect equation for long-term, strong economic growth: major infrastructure projects, new businesses and an enviable lifestyle.
The total figure for infrastructure investment feeding into regional Toowoomba is in the billions of dollars.
The Second Range Crossing, the Wellcamp Airport Business Park, the Grand Central shopping centre redevelopment and the new urban villages are all in the pipeline or underway. They present an impressive mix of infrastructure investments unparalleled in any other regional city in our state.
The amount and intensity of the new projects are instant attractions for new businesses, whether they are there to service the growth or to capitalise on them.
It is unsurprising that a large number of new jobs will be created in the construction industry as a result of the new projects. But the development of new shopping precincts and airports will provide the foundations to continue attracting aviation routes and major retailers well into the future.
We know that where there is strong economic growth, there will be solid population growth as new businesses look to attract the best of the best. Wages will rise, career opportunities are opened, unemployment will go down and social disadvantage will be lessened.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) believes if we can maintain a good level of political and economic stability, we predict this will be the case for Toowoomba over the next few years.
CCIQ has consistently called for greater infrastructure investment, of at least 4.25 per cent of Gross State Product, which is our 10-year average, as we urgently need more success stories like this.
Furthermore, if governments were to change the way they approach infrastructure investment and delivery, many other metropolitan and regional towns could be singing similar stories.
For example and as with the case in Toowoomba, there has been a greater public-private collaboration in getting the major projects underway, which go beyond just private financing of infrastructure.
The prime example is the Wellcamp Airport and Business Park which is being funded, developed and now operated wholly by the private sector.
An expanded relationship with the private sector – which spans from initial planning, development, construction, through to operation – can help improve the overall efficiency of infrastructure investments.
Another driver in the success of Toowoomba is how successive governments have been able to take the politics out of infrastructure delivery, by carrying projects forward instead of scrapping them following a change of government.
Toowoomba has managed to achieve a high level of cooperation between local, state and federal governments, which undoubtedly became the key ingredient in its success as a city.
Source
07/02/2017 The Brisbane Times - The Infrastructure boom drives Toowoomba to top 10
Other Toowoomba articles
28/02/2017 The Chronicle - Booming-2-toowoomba-suburbs-named-growth-areas-qld