Bomen Estate in Wagga Wagga gets special treatment
Work on a world class business precinct at Bomen Estate in Wagga Wagga has been given the green light by the NSW Government - opening the door for more jobs to be created in regional NSW.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, John Barilaro, today announced the Bomen Business Park in Wagga Wagga will become the second Special Activation Precinct to be set up in regional NSW.
“Bomen Estate will become a freight and logistics port that capitalises on the Inland Rail and operates as a manufacturing and agribusiness precinct for local business and draws business from interstate into regional NSW.
“Businesses that set themselves up in the Wagga Wagga Special Activation Precinct will have access to new industrial roads, freight rail links, digital connectivity, a fast-tracked planning process and the certainty of being located in a government precinct.
“The NSW Nationals in government have ring-fenced $4.2 billion under the Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund for regional NSW, with funding already flowing into projects like the Special Activation Precinct in Parkes and Bomen Estate here in Wagga.”
Initial forecasts indicate the government‘s investment in the Wagga Special Activation Precinct could generate an additional 6,000 new jobs over the next 20 years.
Wagga Wagga City Council has already started work on a High Productivity Freight Route that will make the precinct market ready for investors and developers, with roads and rail underpass projects completed to support B-triple trucks and improved access to the Sturt Highway.
Mr Barilaro said establishing a Special Activation Precinct at Wagga Wagga would enable the NSW Government to provide further funding towards the delivery of the precinct, and offer business certainty around planning and approvals processes and timelines, as well as incentives and access to a Business Concierge service.
The precinct will be centred around Bomen Business Park’s approximately 1,800 hectares of land - transforming the area into a thriving business hub providing companies with the infrastructure they need to take their operations to the next level, make transporting goods faster and cheaper, and remove red tape to allow them to get on with the business of attracting new customers, improving their bottom line and creating new local jobs.
In addition to the freight and logistics industry, the Special Activation Precinct will also focus on advanced manufacturing, recycling and renewable energy. Australia’s biggest oil recycling plant, Southern Oil, which has been operating out of Bomen Business Park since 2001, is one business that will benefit from the NSW Government’s initiative.
“What the Deputy Premier has announced today will accelerate regional growth by ensuring a quicker and more streamlined planning pathway. This can only be good for regional businesses and economies as it means more job opportunities for the community,” said Tim Rose, Managing Director, Southern Oil.
To oversee the delivery of regional NSW’s Special Activation Precincts, so far announced in Wagga Wagga and Parkes, Mr Barilaro advised a new Regional Growth Development Corporation will be established. The Corporation will have the responsibility to coordinate investor and business attraction, oversee infrastructure delivery within each precinct and provide planning and environmental protection support for new businesses wanting to set-up in a Special Activation Precinct.
“We want to make sure that new and expanding businesses have the support they need to be successful. The Regional Growth Development Corporation will help provide that support in Special Activation Precincts around regional NSW,” Mr Barilaro said.
“The Regional Growth Development Corporation will be up and running in March 2019. Master plans for Parkes and Wagga Wagga will be completed and ready for delivery later this year.”