The City of Greater Geelong spent a record $124.5 million on capital projects during the 2018-19 financial year, figures presented to council show.
The money was invested in a range of major infrastructure upgrades and new community facilities, as the City responds to the region's rapid population growth.
Major community projects completed during 2018-19 included the Armstrong Creek Integrated Children's and Community Centre ($17.24 million), stage two of the Leopold Community Hub – including library ($8.7 million), and the Highton Enhanced Children's Centre ($5.5 million).
The numbers were detailed on Tuesday 27 August as council endorsed an amended carryover of $36.2 million in capital expenditure from the 2018-19 budget to the 2019-20 budget, following a review of capital projects at the end of June.
This is a significant improvement on the $49.5 million carried over from 2017-18 to 2018-19.
A number of major builds are scheduled to be finished in 2019-20, highlighted by new Child and Family Centres in Drysdale and Purnell Road (Corio), both valued at $13.3 million.
Councillor Bruce Harwood, Mayor:
Through its past two budgets this council has committed to a huge investment in capital projects for the long-term benefit of our community. The $124.5 million capital spend shows we are listening to the community and building the essential infrastructure being requested.Although we hope to see the carryover figure reduce further next year, this year's result is a major improvement on the previous 12 months.
Councillor Pat Murnane, Chair, Finance portfolio:
The $124.5 million capital spend last financial year shows that this council is placing a heavy emphasis on investing in important community facilities and infrastructure. There were some major capital projects completed during 2018-19 that were vitally important to our growing community's needs.This continues during the current financial year, with a projection that we'll spend $125 million on capital projects during 2019-20.
