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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-08 Daily Xml
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Torrens to Darlington Project

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Can the minister please inform the house on the progress of the Torrens to Darlington project?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:00): Thank you very much. Just to explain to my young friend, you have a procurement before you sign a contract.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: That is right.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes. The member for Elder and the member for Badcoe are tireless advocates in their local community, and I appreciate their keen interest in this. The member for Elder is always, always asking about this project and advocating for her local community. In the last state budget, our government committed a record $21 billion in investment in infrastructure that will create jobs, support our economy and improve the lives of South Australians.

At the centre of this record investment is the Torrens to Darlington project, the largest infrastructure initiative in South Australian history. While it is being undertaken, it will be the largest infrastructure program in the country, right here in South Australia: $850 million of the total budget is essential network upgrades that are required for the motorway and the wider road network to properly function during and after construction of the project. These are for greater and wider corridor benefits.

The first project to be completed amongst that, along the north-south corridor, is the Selgar Avenue link road—the first beginning. It will always be the first part of T2D that was completed. The member for Elder was there at the beginning, and she was there to make sure it was opened. It was delivered by a local civil engineering company, Bardavcol, and it is complete; it is finished. Connecting motorists to the Tonsley Innovation District and the southbound lanes of South Road, the new link road will improve local area access and connectivity with the motorway in the Clovelly Park area. I thank the member for Elder for her advocacy and all her help.

Other works across the project are progressing well. There is the Tonsley East substation; the Manton Street and Adam Street junction upgrade; and the Grange Road, Holbrooks Road and East Avenue intersection upgrade, removing that dogleg, which is very important. Of course, the resurfacing of South Road is something that should have been done under the last term of the previous government but had not been. It continues apace. Indeed, that was the part of the project that they left out of the entire scope of the project. They were going to leave parts of South Road untouched, without any new pavement. You can ask any resident in that local area what they think about the re-pavement, and you can hear that they love it.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: Why didn't you do it?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: We did; we finished it. My young friend again: the premature interjection. He is a habitual interjector. Of course, it continues apace. I know that this project is so important to our state's long-term prosperity that it will sustain 5½ thousand jobs per year for each and every year of its construction. It will slash travel times across the 10.5 kilometre section to just nine minutes when complete.

It also provides economic opportunity to local businesses. I am pleased to update the house that almost 300 of the approximately 570 businesses that have registered their interest in working on the Torrens to Darlington project via the ICN are South Australian or have a presence here. Thirty-three of those companies are owned by Indigenous business leaders. That is a great outcome.

If you are a business or a supplier who is interested in working on the largest infrastructure program in the country, it's not too late to register your interest. I encourage you to do so at t2d.icn.org.au. All the details for registering are on ICN Gateway to be provided to the T2D project. This is a great project and, despite the best efforts of the members opposite, it's proceeding.

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