In continuation of its six-year, $50 billion infrastructure investment program commenced in 2013–14, Australia's commonwealth government has pledged an additional $5 billion for infrastructure over the next three to four years, with the program due to end in 2019–20.

Some of the projects that will receive funding are:

  • Equity funding of ARTC to assist land acquisition and other up-front works for the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail link—$594 million over three years.
  • Western Sydney airport, Badgery's Creek—$115.1 million in 2016–17 for concept design of the rail link, planning and other preparatory works at the site.
  • Reallocation of the $1.5 billion previously set aside for Melbourne's East–West Link. Projects slated to receive funding include an upgrade to the Monash Freeway ($500 million), a rural and regional roads package ($345 million), an upgrade to the Murray Basin Rail Project ($220 million), completion of the upgrade to the M80 Western Ring Road ($350 million), an urban congestion package ($75 million) and the Melbourne Metro business case ($10 million).
  • Forrestfield Airport Link rail project (connecting Perth's eastern suburbs and airport to the city)—$490 million.
  • Establishment of a commonwealth "Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility" to administer the financing of infrastructure projects in Northern Australia—$44 million over four years.
  • Dams and pipelines—$2 billion of loans to the states over 10 years.
  • Perth Freight link—$260 million.
  • Ipswich Motorway upgrade between Rocklea and Darra—$200 million.
  • Second stage of Gold Coast light rail—$95 million.
  • The "beef roads" program, a Northern Australia scheme initiative designed to improve the cattle corridor—$100 million over the next three years.

Against this, the infrastructure lobby has expressed some disappointment that the government's asset recycling fund has not been extended past its June 30, 2016 deadline and that the government will instead return $850 million out of the fund to consolidated revenue to support the budget bottom line. The fund provided commonwealth money to the states on the back of the states' asset sales. During its recent life, the fund has provided money to a number of projects, most notably $2.2 billion for the Sydney Metro project and $877 million for Melbourne's Metro project.

Queensland's Cross River Rail and Townsville Stadium were not allocated funding in this federal budget.

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