The Cairns community has until Friday (11 October) to comment on two updates to the recently announced Cairns South State Development Area (SDA).
Minister for State Development Cameron Dick said a draft development scheme for the proposed 856-hectare economic zone, situated east of the Bruce Highway and north of Gordonvale at Wrights Creek, is being released today.
"We want the Cairns community to participate in the economy of the future and to capitalise on the advanced manufacturing, biofutures and defence-related industries growing in the region, but we need industrial land to achieve this," Mr Dick said.
"This is why we declared the SDA in November last year, to make sure we have the right amount of industrial land in Far North Queensland now and into the future."
"The development scheme will identify the most appropriate locations for particular development and the criteria for their assessment, and will set the rules for how industry can apply to establish their operations in the SDA.
"The SDA will support warehousing, heavy and civil engineering businesses, as well as creating an opportunity for development associated with the government's priority industries.
"Another key advantage of this SDA is its proximity to the Bruce Highway and North Coast Line, which presents an opportunity to respond to changing trends in the rail freight sector and support future growth in the intermodal and freight related industry," he said.
"But this is more than an industrial opportunity.
"As a result of feedback from MSF Sugar and local growers, around 60 per cent of the SDA will either be protected for rural purposes to support cane supply to the mill or set aside for environmental purposes."
The SDA is well placed to reap benefit from the progression of the Bruce Highway – Cairns Southern Access Corridor – Stage 3: Edmonton to Gordonvale project, which will improve connectivity and access to the SDA via a new grade separated interchange.
Views are also being sought on expanding the boundary of the SDA.
The Office of the Coordinator-General is seeking community feedback to include 332 hectares of land adjacent to the Mulgrave Mill as part of the SDA.
The Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt said this would support MSF Sugar's goal to facilitate new industries that value-add to sugar processing and create more jobs for Far North Queenslanders.
"I want to thank landowners, MSF Sugar, Cairns Regional Council, Canegrowers Cairns and other stakeholders for their ongoing feedback into the development of the draft development scheme and the proposed expansion of the SDA," Mr Pitt said.
Mr Dick said an SDA can make doing business easy for investors.
"The Office of the Coordinator-General can assist investors through up-front detailed land use and infrastructure planning, and by offering a one-stop-shop to streamline development assessment processes and help make land available at the right time," he said.
"This SDA will bolster the economic future for the region and ensure this valued part of our state is prepared for the growth we expect it will experience in the coming years."
Lean more about the Cairns South SDA.
