Who Will Benefit Most from the Act Government Proposed Investment of Some $800 Million in Capital Metro, a Light Rail System? How? Why?

Who will benefit most from the ACT Government proposed investment of some $800 million in capital metro, a light rail system? How? Why?

Building Towns Into Cities.

Building transportation infrastructure isn’t just about shortening commutes; it’s about connecting the community and building the economy. The city of Canberra is in need of a transport upgrade to help with car congestion on roads, slow commute times and a growing population. As Canberra grows it looks at new ways to connect and build the economy for future prosperity for citizens. A way to improve congestion and accommodate for a growing population the ACT Government sees to invest over $800 million into a light rail system as an answer to these issues. Throughout the following essay, points are made on whom the light rail system will benefit and how they are benefitted while discussing why curtain people will benefit more than others.

The history of the LRT (light rail transit) system has impacted many cities around the world with hundreds of cities successfully implementing LRT systems. Experience from more than 400 locations has shown how reliable and affective a light rail system is by attracting investment, employment, environmental benefits and encouraging more active lifestyles (Industry Participation Policy, 2013, p.01). In the United States of America there are some cities that stand out because of their adoption of new technology and innovation in the industry, most notable cities Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and California are prime examples (Topalovic, Carter, Topalovic, Krantzberg, 2004, p.330).The implementation of a LRT system within the ACT is an area Capital Metro is unfamiliar too, to be sure that a LRT system would work. Research needs to be done by local and international firms to promise a successful system. The global firm EY has advised Australia on some of its most complex transportation projects, from the beginning EY has been involved in the ACT light rail project, just one example of how the Capital metro project will attract international people and business to Canberra (Capital Metro Business Case in Brief, 2013, p.08). As the project moves forward job creation becomes an important element of the project, not only focusing on international jobs but also focusing on local jobs and the unemployed will create a positive economic benefit to the local community.

As the project moves into construction, the total number of jobs that will be supported is estimated to be 3,560, spread over the construction period 2016 to 2018 (Job creation analysis, 2014, p.02). It is important to understand that the construction involves many different occupations that spam over the country involving suppliers and business of Australia. Of the 3,560 jobs, 1,450 are direct and around 2,100 are indirect (Job creation analysis, 2014, p.02). Some of the key findings throughout the Job Creation Analysis found, during peak construction ground construction would take 65%, with technical services accounting for 20%, financial and other specialists advisors accounting for 4%, management and admin also 4%. The remaining would be made up of other services like accommodation and food (Job creation analysis, 2014, p.02).   As ground construction benefits the greatest over the construction period, the operational phase lacks direct job creation. As of 2022 the project will be fully operational and over this period there are substantially less direct jobs created, a total of 125 jobs (Job creation analysis, Table 1, 2014, p.02). This may seem concerning that only 125 jobs will be directly affected during the operational phase from an 800 million investment, it’s the indirect jobs that are the winners, with over 5000 new jobs created by 2048.