Yahoo Finance The Sydney area set to get 16,000 new jobs
Two new construction projects have been given the green light in Sydney’s west, adding to a growing list that is set to deliver thousands of jobs.
The NSW government has now invested in six major construction projects in western Sydney that are promising to create a combined 16,052 new jobs, and two of these have now been fast-tracked to help boost the local economy.
Parramatta, dubbed ‘Sydney’s second CBD’, and some suburbs near the $5.3 billion new Badgery Creek airport slated to open in 2026, have been earmarked for growth.
A new recycling plant in Penrith and a major upgrade to a brick production facility in Horsley Park will inject $27.8 million into the economy, according to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
“Western Sydney is undergoing significant growth, which is why we’ve fast-tracked the assessment of projects in the region over the past three weeks to create opportunities for more than 16,000 local jobs and $1.8 billion in investment,” Berejiklian said.
“The housing and construction industries will be vital to supporting our state’s economy through the pandemic and so we’re doing what we can to keep the industry moving.”
The Austral Bricks’ plant will receive a $26 million upgrade to become a state-of-the-art facility able to create enough bricks each hour to build five homes, creating 60 construction jobs and 35 operational roles.
Penrith’s new recycling facility will be operated by NSW Waste Recycling and will create 37 jobs once it’s completed.
Already approved projects include the creation of a Bunnings Warehouse at Bringelly Business Park and rezoning works at Glenlee, Bankstown and Mount Druitt. The Mount Druitt rezoning project is by far the largest, responsible for creating 15,000 jobs.
NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said projects had been reprioritised to more quickly keep people in jobs and kick-start the state economy.
“We’ll have another tranche of shovel-ready projects ready to announce shortly, which will also have their assessments finalised within four weeks.”
Speaking to Yahoo Finance, realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said any money invested in the region will be positive, especially during rising unemployment and low business and consumer sentiment.
“Right now it is important that the government spends money to stimulate the economy and jobs creation is particularly important. The good news for Western Sydney is that this provides long lasting benefits,” she said.
“Western Sydney is the growth region for Sydney so it makes sense to invest heavily in this part of the city.”
She pointed to other examples in Australia where significant sums of money spent on revitalising business districts led to a “significant pickup in business growth and house prices”.
An investment of $355 million in downtown Geelong, for example, saw a positive impact for the area more broadly, Conisbee said.
“The Mt Druitt investment is four times more than that.”
Property investors will be eyeing western Sydney, she added.
“At the moment, the most popular suburbs in that part of Sydney are houses in Greystanes and Granville.”
Western Sydney Airport alone is expected to create nearly 28,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2031.
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