Port lease to fund Newcastle revitalisation
The NSW Government leased the port for 98 years to deliver gross proceeds of $1.75 billion. This means an extra $1.5 billion will be invested in much-needed infrastructure, with 30% directed toward projects in rural and regional NSW.
NSW Minister for Transport and Minister for the Hunter Gladys Berejiklian said $340 million from the proceeds would go towards revitalising Newcastle’s CBD, in addition to the $120 million the government had already allocated to the project, including a new light rail service.
The remainder (more than $1.2 billion) will be invested in the government’s dedicated infrastructure fund, Restart NSW.
While visiting the Hunter region, Ms Berejiklian also joined local MPs to announce public transport customers would soon benefit from a major refresh of Hunter train carriages, with a $5 million investment to upgrade the region’s 14 dedicated Hunter train carriages, with work set to get underway immediately.