WA Government investing $500 million to unlock industrial areas

The WA Government announced recently that it will invest half a billion dollars to develop the state’s strategic industrial areas (SIAs) and pave the way for WA to become a “global clean energy powerhouse”.

Funded in the 2024–25 state Budget, the $500 million Strategic Industries Fund will deliver common-user and other enabling infrastructure at SIAs across regional and metropolitan WA.

WA is home to 13 SIAs, spanning the entire state, in Browse, Boodarie, Burrup, Maitland, Anketell, Ashburton North, Oakajee, Kwinana, Rockingham, Kemerton, Shotts, Mungari and Mirambeena.

There has been significant interest in access to industrial land across WA for renewable hydrogen, critical minerals processing and other job-creating industries. The Strategic Industries Fund will be used to prepare land for future industrial projects, ensuring WA is primed for sustainable growth and development.

An initial $125 million will be invested to open up new industrial land at Latitude 32 in Kwinana, given the strong demand for land in Perth’s industrial heartland — with recent allocations in the Kwinana and Rockingham SIAs towards a range of job-creating projects.

A further $20 million will be allocated to develop general industrial land in Karratha and in the Peel region, while $20 million has been set aside to unlock land in the Goldfields and South West.

The Strategic Industries Fund is on top of the $160 million industrial lease incentive scheme announced late last year, to attract clean energy projects to SIAs.

“WA is the engine room of the nation’s economy, and I want to make sure our state becomes a global clean energy powerhouse,” said WA Premier Roger Cook. “We have the renewable resources, skills and trading partnerships to become home to job-creating clean energy mega-projects, and our Strategic Industries Fund will help to unlock the industrial land we need to get these projects off the ground.”

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