EDA Journal Vol 14 No 3 | Page 28

The market analysis highlighted the unique local economy compared to other regions up and down the Queensland coastline . Since 2000 , the Mackay economy expanded significantly to service the coal mining activities in the Bowen Basin , which became the key driver of demand for industrial land . Mackay ’ s economy now has a strong industrial base with world class companies in the Mining Equipment , Technology and Services ( METS ) sector .
The analysis exposed the dependence and risk associated with international exportorientated coal markets . Around 80 % of coal exported from the Bowen Basin between 2000 and 2020 was metallurgical or coking coal that is used in blast furnaces to manufacture steel in mostly Asian countries . Changes in demand for coking coal and the related coal export price directly impacted on local industrial activity and the demand for industrial land . Even with uncertainty around future demand for coking coal , the METS sector will continue to be a key driver of demand for specifically high impact industrial land in Mackay .
Council undertook a detailed survey of the use of each parcel of industrial zoned land , including the type of existing use , an unused building or vacant site . The resultant Geographical Information System ( GIS ) map database provided an insight into the use of each property using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification ( ANZSIC ).
This showed the dominant type of business on industrial land was manufacturing at 56.1 % followed by transport , postal and warehousing at 9.9 %. The survey also showed that 30 % of industrial uses were directly related to coal mining activity and that 34 ha of industrial land were used for outdoor storage of machinery and equipment related to mining activity .
The analysis of the historical take up of industrial land showed a direct correlation with periods of rapid economic growth . This included analysis of development applications over time and the use of aerial photography to verify development and construction on each parcel of industrial land .
Although Mackay has several industrial areas , the Paget industrial area contains the heavy industries at the heart of the economy . Over a 20-year period , the developed industrial land in the Paget industrial estate increased from 110.2 ha ( 2000 ) to 333 ha ( 2020 ). However , the most rapid increase of 160 ha was between 2005 and 2014 , which corresponds to the growth in coal mining in the nearby Bowen Basin . Figure 1 shows the annual industrial land take-up in the Paget industrial estate that corresponds with the growth period between 2003 and 2014 .
A key learning was understanding the past timeframe and infrastructure cost to develop the Paget industrial estate to its current 333 hectares of developed industrial land . The expansion of Paget in the rapid growth period required significant trunk infrastructure investments in roads , water , sewerage and stormwater to an estimated value of $ 200 million . In the absence of detailed planning , this is an indicator to potential costs should Council proceed to plan and develop a similar sized industrial area . Importantly , the analysis also highlighted the 5 to 7-year lead time required to gain planning approvals and establish fully serviced industrial lots .
Ethos Urban assisted in conducting targeted interviews with state government departments , development bodies , regional resource networks , port authorities and industrialists to gain an on-the-ground perspective of the drivers of historical industrial land development . The interviews confirmed the strong linkage between the coal mining construction boom and demand for high impact industrial land . It also provided an insight into the cost of industrial land over time and reasons behind expansion of industrial activities .
To plan ahead , three scenarios for future industrial land demand were developed based on assumptions of growth per industry sectors and population growth to the year 2040 – being a low , steady state and high growth scenario . It recognised the different drivers for low versus high impact industrial land . Low Impact industry land being driven by population growth and household demand as opposed to
Figure : Annual Industrial Land Take-up , Paget Industrial Area , 2000 to 2020 ( Mackay )
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