A plan to create 120,000 jobs in the City of Melton and return $19 billion to the Victorian economy by 2051 has been outlined in a newly released Council strategy.
The Melton City Council Investment Attraction Strategy provides an action plan for building a diverse and resilient economy and generating strong and significant jobs growth in the west.
It details how timely State and Federal government investment in several key projects would attract substantial commercial investment and close the jobs gap between the City of Melton and other growth areas.
Council is calling for the governments to invest in the key projects that will help accelerate economic and employment growth including: Melton Hospital, Western Freight Precinct, Outer Metropolitan Ring project, Melton Highway Upgrade, Western Highway Upgrade, and Melton Line electrification.
City of Melton Mayor Cr Kathy Majdlik said the strategy provided a strong plan for maximising the city's economic opportunities.
"Creating 120,000 jobs and returning billions to the economy is an exciting goal, and this strategy demonstrates how we can achieve it," she said.
"The strategy shows how a clear and accelerated pipeline of infrastructure investment is the catalyst to create thousands of jobs for Melbourne's outer west.
"It's not just about creating greater liveability in the suburbs, it's about Melbourne's outer west being a major player in the state's economy."
With so many major projects needed, and the local population growing so rapidly, Cr Majdlik urged the State and Federal governments to fund and fast-track key projects.
"It's important that the State and Federal governments act now on these key transformational projects," she said.
"If timely investment is not committed for these infrastructure projects, the local jobs gap will grow significantly. The City of Melton will have 110,000 people commuting to work outside of the municipality every day by 2051 adding significantly to Melbourne's congestion burden.
"Our strategy clearly shows how this sort of infrastructure will unlock the local economy and provide desperately needed jobs."
