Plenty to get excited about

After a busy few years, it's looking like 2024 has even more in store for Townsville to get excited about.

The final months of last year saw further transformation in our city's landscape on the back of the economic resurgence of recent years. The new Ardo Hotel has quickly become a favourite for locals and visitors, while there's been a ripple of renewal through the CBD as properties have been refurbished and new businesses opened. The Port will soon be added to the list with the imminent completion of their Channel Upgrade project. A record-breaking local cruise ship season is currently underway, a taste of things to come once we start welcoming the Large Class vessels that this expansion will enable. The larger Port capacity will also prepare us for the growing trade in and out of the region - forecast to be triple the current volume by 2050 as the major projects roll out and our economy grows.

"And we can expect another busy year of construction in 2024."

Over $2B worth of major project work is planned to commence this year alone. This includes the Copperstring transmission line, as decades of discussion and planning will finally give way to this catalyst project becoming a reality. Significant activity is already planned for the energy and minerals sectors North West Queensland and this investment pipeline will only grow as the game-changing Copperstring rolls out. We have also seen the recent announcement around the federal government’s $70M contribution to Edify Energy’s $137M hyrdrogen production facility at Lansdown.

But while Townsville has enjoyed a purple patch, we've also faced the global economic headwinds that have been challenging businesses and households. We will all be hoping that this year sees inflation continue to drop and interest rate rises finally come off the Reserve Bank's agenda.

2024 is another year that is opening with global economic uncertainty. But we can expect to see more exciting transformation in North Queensland.

Townsville Bulletin | 14.02.2024

?