The Western Sydney Aerotropolis has brought federal, state and local governments together at an almost unprecedented level. They have cooperated to develop an economic development strategy for a thriving Bradfield City Centre that is set to thrive alongside Sydney and Paramatta. Their shared vision is for a commercial ecosystem that transforms paddocks into a state-of-the art green city that will be home to advanced manufacturing, research, science and education.
There’s an element of ‘chicken and egg’ to the scenario.
The governments won’t see their vision realised without the participation of commerce and industry in this development. But the private sector has been reticent to commit to something that until recently was little more than a highly attractive vision.
The NSW Government has set up the Western Parkland City Authority as the agency responsible for delivering, coordinating and attracting investment for the centre. One of the first steps in attracting commerce and industry participation was encouraging investment from global firms that would then provide incentive for local companies to further invest in infrastructure, facilities and operations.
With 18 Memorandum’s of Understanding (MOU) signed with these large multinationals (see companies below), the NSW government has something tangible to take to the market. Although not legally binding, these MOUs have reduced risk for local companies whilst providing a level of certainty for both the multinationals and NSW government that the Bradfield vision will be realised.
In addition, the state government has injected $1.15 billion to start works. That includes $975.5 million in enabling works to establish and remediate the site and $132 million to develop the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. I see this as an act of good faith to prove the government’s commitment to seeing its vision realised.
Below we have included the Aerotropolis Investor Guide which shows the extent to which governments have committed to the development of this area, and the billions-of-dollars worth of opportunities that come with it.
I wonder how much of this work you already have earmarked within your strategic plans. Especially looking at the pipeline of works it potentially offers.