7. REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE

- Of the record $9.9 billion infrastructure budget for 2006-07:

• regional spending will account for around 47 per cent or some $3.7 billion

• Sydney spending will account for 53 per cent or $4.2 billion.1

- Major infrastructure initiatives are highlighted in the following regional maps. They highlight the key infrastructure priorities driven by the factors outlined in Chapter 3, viz:

• Population growth and distribution

• Ageing and longevity

• Technological change

• Industrial and commercial developments

• Cost pressures

• Infrastructure renewal

• Environmental issues.

- The State Infrastructure Strategy regions are:

• Sydney

• Central Coast

• Hunter

• North Coast

• Inland New South Wales

• Illawarra-South East.

- The projects provided include approved projects and future projects that form part of the New South Wales Government's $110 billion infrastructure budget over the next decade.

- These infrastructure priorities illustrate the connections between infrastructure planning and long-term planning strategies, including:

• Sydney Metropolitan Strategy - City of Cities: A Plan for Sydney's Future

• Metropolitan Water Plan 2006

• North West and South West Growth Centres

• Draft Regional Strategies for the Far-North Coast, Lower Hunter and the South Coast.

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1 This is based on SIS regions and excludes projects that cover multiple regions.