‘CONSTRUCTION KING’ SYDNEY DOMINATES CRANE INDEX

Almost half of Australia’s cranes are on Sydney’s skyline making it the nation’s “construction king”, the latest RLB Crane Index shows.

RLB said there are now 288 cranes on Sydney’s skyline – the greatest level of activity Sydney has experienced since the Index’s launch in 2013. Crane activity has more than tripled in Sydney over the last three years.

Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian said the NSW Government’s record infrastructure spend over the last five years has increased construction activity across the State.

“Our focus on delivering new roads, rail, hospitals and schools has boosted our construction sector and is underpinning much of the growth in our economy,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“We are spending a record $68.6 billion on infrastructure over the next four years in addition to our $20 billion Rebuilding NSW plan to transform the State.”

Ms Berejiklian said it was pleasing that much of the crane activity was for residential construction, with 83 per cent of Sydney’s 288 cranes involved in building new homes.

“Sydney’s cranes are building the housing that Sydney needs,” the Treasurer said.

“Sydney is a hive of construction activity. Everywhere you look across our skyline you see cranes – a reminder that business and consumer confidence continues to be strong.”

The report identified Darling Harbour as a crane hotspot with about a dozen cranes working on the new International Conference Centre while Barangaroo boasted a further five cranes.

It also found that crane activity was widely distributed across Sydney due to strong residential dwelling construction activity.