GOVERNMENT DELIVERS $580M IN CAPITAL WORKS

ACT Treasurer, Katy Gallagher, announced today that the Government had delivered an unprecedented level of infrastructure investment in 2009-10, almost double the previous record.

"The Government has successfully achieved a preliminary outcome of $580 million for the 2009-10 Capital Works Program," Ms Gallagher said.

"This is an exceptional outcome- almost double the previous record of $296 million which we achieved in 2008-09," she said.

"The Capital Works Program is all about delivering valuable community assets for the people of the ACT and improving the infrastructure we rely on to deliver a wide range of services to our community.

"At the same time, our investment in infrastructure supports the Territory's growth and jobs, and increases the productive capacity of our economy.

"This was particularly important during 2009-10 as we continued to recover from the global financial crisis and experienced ongoing uncertainty in the economic environment. The Government's unprecedented infrastructure investment provided confidence to industry at this critical time, supporting jobs and economic activity."

Ms Gallagher said the preliminary outcome represented the delivery of 74 per cent of the revised Capital Works Program, exceeding the average delivery achieved over the last three years.

"This achievement is also especially pleasing given that the ACT building and construction industry was stretched during 2009-10 as a result of the Commonwealth's significant stimulus program, the strong housing market and large private sector projects," Ms Gallagher said.

"The Government has been able to achieve such an outstanding result due to a range of actions taken to improve delivery of our capital works program such as enhanced monitoring and reporting practices."

During the June quarter, 94 projects were completed, bringing the end of year total to around 200 projects.

Significant projects completed during 2009-10 included the Belconnen Arts Centre, a new 16 bed intensive care unit at Calvary Hospital, the Canberra Hospital's new Walk-in Centre, a new Southside Park‘n'Ride and Bike‘n'ride facility at Mawson, the upgrade of Tharwa Drive, the extension of Wells Station Drive, the Lakeside Leisure Centre refurbishment, City West Infrastructure Stage 2, and a new Horticultural Facility at the CIT Bruce Campus.

Media Contact:

Kathryn Roberts 6205 0242 0402 399 907 kathryn.roberts@act.gov.au