Big rise in Australian investment plans

Press, 5 January 1980, Page 7

Big rise in Australian investment plans

A senior Australian Government Minster has predicted an unprecedented surge in mining and manu l factoring investment in Australia. The Minister for Industry and Commerce (Mr Lynch) said the latest schedule of major mining and manufacturing investment projects, indicated a further substantial strengthening of the level of intended investment in Australia. . . About sAustl6,3ooM .in investment projects was at the “committed” or “final feasibility” stages, compared with a figure of $12,400M at the time of the last survey in April. Of the latest figure $7200M was attributable to manufacturing projects, with the remaining S9IOOM directed toward mining investment. “It is most encouraging that the scheduled private investment will ■ have a significant employment-gen-erating effect on the Australian economy in the early 1980 s,” he said. ■‘Not only will many thou-

sands be employed directly in the construction and operating phases of the projects, but' there also will be as significant flovz through to employment in the manufacturing and services sectors which will be supplying goods and services to the major projects. “While it is not possible to estimate precisely the proportion of these funds which will be spet in Australia, studies of previous 1a r g e-scale developments indicate that possibly -in excess of 70 per cent will flow directly to Australian companies and workers,” Mr Lynch said. » The public sector planned to spend mor than ,SSOOOM on power-generation, facilities, and infrastructure expenditures of this type would be additional to the $16,300M figure. . ' Levels of investment identified by the latest project schedule, included: — $4600M in alumina.-re-; fining and aluminium'smelting; . ; v , —$24OOM in iron ore and basic steel production;

— S2IOOM in the coal industry; — $4600M in oil and gas developments; and — S9OOM in uranium mining. The Department of Industry and Commerce had been monitoring Australia’s major investment projects in the manufacturing and mining sectors since 1977. This latest update was completed in the first two weeks of October. Some major projects under, serious consideration and study' were riot included in the $16,300M,; because such projects had not yet been- accepted as being at the firmly committed or final feasibility phases, aL though .they'might be virtually certajri to go ahead “once the netessary preliminary phases ' have been completed?’ ’ The schedule of major jects revealed that a substantial amount of economic activity would be generated in 1980 and this boost should be maintained well into the 1980 s, Mr Lynch said.’’t . .