Work at Macquarie Point to make way for a future multi-purpose stadium is moving ahead as planned, despite a complex planning process still being underway.
Anne Beach from the Macquarie Point Development Corporation confirmed today that the project is nearing the halfway point of its 12-month assessment process.
“Shortly we’ll expect to see a draft integrated assessment report from the Tasmanian Planning Commission,” Beach said. “It is a really complex process. It’s an integrated assessment and it’s a really broad assessment.”
The stadium is a key part of Tasmania’s AFL team deal, with the government reiterating there is no alternative way to retain the Tasmania Devils.
“If we do not have this stadium, we do not have a team,” Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent said.
“This will create so many other opportunities for Tasmania besides just football. The whole area will have enormous growth and potential based around that stadium.”
Work is already underway at the Macquarie Point site, with remediation of approximately 1.5 hectares of former gasworks land recently completed.
Currently, construction crews are carrying out piling work for a pump station, which will allow the removal of the existing wastewater treatment plant.
The planning assessment is due to conclude in September, after which the proposal will go before Parliament for final approval. If successful, early works could begin by the end of 2025, with major construction expected to start in 2026.
According to Vincent, market testing has already drawn strong interest from investors, construction firms and equity providers.
He said economic modelling suggests the project could create up to 3,000 jobs during construction, with many of the workers likely to transition from the Bridgewater Bridge project.
“Infrastructure is one of the key things we should be spending money on,” Vincent said.
“We all know that housing, education and health are vital to our everyday way of life. But to have that future for employment, for training, for families to stay in Hobart and Tasmania, we need infrastructure.”
“When government puts money into infrastructure, it builds the confidence in private enterprise to co-invest and create those jobs that are vital to the future.”
For local construction workers like 27-year-old Ed Jones, a project manager at Shaw Contracting, the stadium presents a rare opportunity to be part of a major infrastructure project closer to home.
“There’d be definitely a lot of people ready to throw their hats in the ring and try and get some work on this job,” Jones said. “A lot of our work is abroad, so it’d be nice to work in the backyard.”
