Friday, 15 June, 2018
CONCRETE PLANS TO SUPPORT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PIPELINE
The Andrews Labor Government has announced a new plan to strengthen Victoria’s quarry sector, to ensure a steady supply of materials to the building industry and support the state’s infrastructure boom.
Minister for Resources Tim Pallas today visited the site of one of the five Metro Tunnel stations under construction in north Melbourne to launch Helping Victoria Grow: Extractive Resources Strategy.
The $15.7 million strategy will help ensure the high-quality quarry materials our infrastructure boom needs are available at a competitive price.
With Victoria’s population set to double by 2050, so will our demand for the sand, stone and gravel that builds our homes, roads, railways, hospitals and schools.
More than 600,000 cubic metres of concrete will be used across the Metro Tunnel Project, most of which will be sourced from Victorian quarrying materials, with 50,000 concrete segments to line the project’s twin 9 kilometre tunnels.
A key focus of the strategy will be to try to reduce the transport costs associated with infrastructure projects by locating quarries as close as possible to where the material is needed.
Improved planning will help current quarries to keep operating and develop new sites alongside growing suburbs and communities. The strategy will look to ensure there’s a pipeline of raw construction materials to support Victoria’s growing population. It will look at innovative ways to return quarries to communities as lasting assets.
A number of former quarry sites across the state have been transformed to provide park and open space for communities to enjoy, including the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne and Valley Lake in Niddrie.
The new Extractive Resources Strategy aligns with other work underway across government such as the VicRoads approach to increase the use of recycled materials in road construction, reducing demand for virgin materials.
The Labor Government is also looking at ways to support the quarry sector by streamlining approval processes and improving links between different regulators.
Quotes attributable to Treasurer and Minister for Resources Tim Pallas
“We need to make sure our quarries can keep up with the demand our record investment in schools, hospitals, rail and road is creating.”
“An average of eight tonnes of stone, gravel and sand is required every year to build the infrastructure Victorians need – this strategy will ensure our quarries can continue to supply this material and help Victoria grow.”
Repost from https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/180615-Concrete-Plans-To-Support-Our-Infrastructure-Pipeline-1.pdf
