INLAND Rail has announced today (17 October) that its spending with local business on the Beveridge to Albury (B2A) section of the project has passed the $100 million mark.
The project said it delivered a major economic boost to regional Victorian communities, announcing that since October 2022, Inland Rail and partner McConnell Dowell have spent $118 million with 303 local Victorian suppliers to carry out work on the first four construction sites.
Local workers have also taken up employment opportunities on the first tranche of the project with 1279, or 96% of the 1330 jobs to date acquired by local residents.
According to Inland Rail, Victorian businesses are winning early work on Tranche 2 of the B2A project, with twenty-two local businesses having won contracts worth almost $1 million and 156 locals employed.
The project will see the new intermodal terminal at Beveridge, Victoria connected first with Narromine, New South Wales by 2027, and then later with Kagaru in Queensland.
In Victoria, Inland Rail work will be carried out at 12 project sites between Beveridge and Albury in order to enable double-stacked freight trains to pass and ensure everyday products can be delivered more reliably across the country.
Ed Walker, Inland Rail delivery director for B2A said local suppliers are invaluable due to their local knowledge and understanding, as well as their ability to tap into the community expertise and talent needed to complete the project.
“We are determined see local and First Nations businesses win contracts on the Inland Rail project and maximise the economic benefit in communities along the alignment,” Mr Walker said.
“We’re investing in regional Victorian communities and the capabilities of local businesses.
“More communities and businesses are set to benefit when we roll out the second tranche of the project in Benalla, Euroa, Wandong, Hume Freeway – Tallarook & Seymour and Broadford.”
The project, which is aimed at increasing resilience and supply chain productivity across some of Australia’s major cities, including Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, recently had the Illabo to Stockinbingal section approved by the NSW government.
