Businesses will be given payroll tax relief and land tax reductions to set up in a new “Silicon Valley” to be created in the heart of Sydney’s western suburbs, according to a report today in the Daily Telegraph.
The paper reports it has a briefing document that outlines a $557 million infrastructure program that expects to create 52,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
Apparently the $500 million plan will go before a Cabinet budget committee tomorrow to declare 10,000 hectares of western Sydney a “special economic zone”.
The zone would be the largest in Australia and is expected to create employment for thousands of workers in new hi-tech, IT, bio-medical industries and blue collar manufacturing.
The zone will include semi-rural, unused land around Badgerys Creek at the junction of the M4 and M7, which is within 30 minutes of Penrith, Blacktown and Liverpool. Around 3000 hectares would be retained for open space and 2000 hectares for housing.
The paper says the area would be well served with a network of rapid bus links and other public transport, and upgraded roads will link every major western Sydney centre to the new jobs zone.
The plan also involves the creation of a western Sydney freight link and dedicated freight rail line linking it to Port Botany.
Apparently the plan is modelled on similar projects overseas, including Singapore, that have resulted in employment booms. However many of these projects have been built around existing clusters of highly specialised businesses.
The document claims that the employment zone would generate an extra $16 billion in value to the NSW economy by 2031.
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