House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1) 53 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time South Road Upgrades South Road Upgrades Ms DIGANCE House of Assembly Elder South Road Upgrades Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (14:46): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Can the minister inform the house how the government is providing local workers and businesses opportunities to participate in the $1.5 billion upgrade to South Road? The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly Lee Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning Minister Assisting the Minister for Housing and Urban Development South Road Upgrades The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning, Minister Assisting the Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:46): I thank the member for Elder for her question. This government is committed to assisting South Australian businesses so they can reap the benefits of these major infrastructure projects. The $1.5 billion upgrade to the Torrens to Torrens and Darlington sections of the north-south corridor will provide significant opportunities for local employers and workers. Today I have announced the government will be holding an industry briefing later this month on the two projects for all companies interested in tendering for this work. The industry briefing will provide an opportunity for local firms to understand the scope and nature of the projects, the proposed procurement and tendering processes, as well as potential construction contract packages. Importantly, the South Australian Industry Participation Advocate, Mr Ian Nightingale, will attend the briefing to discuss opportunities for local participation. This government works hard to maximise opportunities for South Australian workers and businesses in major construction projects. In the Southern Expressway project, 86 per cent of all subcontracts went to local contractors and suppliers. For the South Road Superway project, two-thirds of subcontracts went to local contractors. It is estimated the Torrens to Torrens and Darlington upgrades will support over 850 jobs a year during the construction phase, and this government will work to provide local workers the best chance to access these jobs. In line with the government's policy, we will have a target of 20 per cent of total labour hours to be carried out by apprentices and trainees, Indigenous workers, people with barriers to employment and workers upskilling themselves through their employment in the project. Our tender evaluation process will also dedicate a minimum of 10 per cent weighting to respondents with local industry participation plans. This weighting underscores the importance the government places on capturing benefits for the local economy from these projects. We know how important these two projects are for creating jobs and easing the congestion along the north-south corridor. By engaging with business and industry from the outset, we can work to maximise the benefit to firms and workers. The industry briefing will be held at 77 Grenfell Street, Adelaide on Thursday 26 June from 10am. The announcement of these projects has already created a lot of interest from industry locally, and I look forward to a strong response from local firms at the briefing.