Infrastructure to underpin mining jobs

Infrastructure to underpin mining jobs

resource sector needs skilled labour in Australia to manage expected growth. Image of a liquid gas LPG container ship in port in Australia

Following an earlier report in April which outlined 98 projects at an advanced stage with a total investment commitment of more than $260 billion, a report by the federal Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) says while prices may have peaked, the volume of exported commodities is expected to grow significantly going forward.

Oil and gas, iron ore, and coal and related infrastructure made up about 95 per cent of committed capital expenditure.

Port, rail and road infrastructure in the resource sector,� has to be managed efficiently in the medium to long-term to ensure the completion of large mining and oil and gas�projects leading up to 2025.

Regional Development Minister Simon Crean said today, “If we are going to maintain the efficiency, maintain that competitive edge, we have got to keep investing in capacity and in the infrastructure”

“Managing the completion of the projects is critical to reap the benefits of what is expected to be continuing strong growth in commodities and Australia’s position in it.”

There is a demand for skilled labour to build infrastructure

Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said while the boom in commodity prices seen in 2009/10 was over, resource companies could “still turn a dollar” as long as the inputs were there.

“If you don’t have the skilled labour you can’t build the infrastructure and we can’t develop the resource opportunities,” he said.

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