Qld Budget 2017: $2 billion for Brisbane Cross River Rail
THE State Government will today signal it is prepared to go it alone on Cross River Rail by adding a further $2 billion towards the much vaunted project.
The Courier-Mail can reveal today's State Budget will allocate the extra $2 billion to kick-start the project, taking the state's contribution to almost $3 billion.
The massive funding injection still leaves a hole of about $2.5 billion to build the inner-city Brisbane rail link between Dutton Park and Bowen Hills, which includes three new underground stations.
Today’s Queensland state budget will see an extra $2 billion allocated to Brisbane’s Cross River Rail. #9News pic.twitter.com/x31aqxDedA
— Nine News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) June 12, 2017
The State Government will leave the door open for future federal contributions and deals with the private sector or a combination of the two. However, it is understood the Government will indicate that it is prepared to go it alone on the 10.2km link, which has been mooted for more than a decade.
Additional cash from coal prices, GST receipts and wholesale energy costs, as well as lower government-sector debt, has helped the Government boost infrastructure spending in today's Budget after two years of subdued capital investment.
