Construction has officially begun on the Peel Business Park with contractors Wormall Civil digging up the first dirt at the Nambeelup site.
The locally based company were awarded two civil works contracts totalling $7.3 million as part of the first phase of the Transform Peel initiative.
Designed to deliver major economic opportunities, the park will create around 2000 local jobs and inject around $1 billion into the WA economy each year.
It will comprise of five interconnected and sustainably designed precincts catering for agri-innovation, commercial, light and general industrial businesses.
Wormall Civil will complete the first major civil works, including the earthworks for the Stage 1 land development and installation of underground power works, which is set to begin soon.
Peel is one of the fastest-growing areas in Australia and is crying out for jobs and a diversity of jobs.
- Minister for land Ben Wyatt
Initial infrastructure works are expected to create over 300 jobs with 160 permanent jobs for the region once the 120 hectare development area is fully operational.
A number of important dignitaries as well as Wormall Civil and Shire of Murray representatives came together in Nambeelup on February 28 to celebrate the launch of Stage 1.
Minister for Lands Ben Wyatt said the state government was committed to delivering locals the first opportunities to be a part of the park.
"We're kicking off the Peel Business Park by creating local jobs by using locals that are already down here working," he said.
"The government must focus on the decisions it can make and the investments it can make to ensure that Western Australians have lots of job opportunities in the areas that they live.
"Peel is one of the fastest-growing areas in Australia and is crying out for jobs and a diversity of jobs."
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Wormall Civil corporate advisor Mike Mulhall said the location of the project was particularly important to the family company.
"We have been strongly engaged with this area for a number of years," he said.
"Over 25 per cent of our workforce is based in the Peel region now and that's growing.
"For this project, we're looking for anything from labouring, machine operators right through to surveyors, project engineers and project managers."
Murray-Wellington MP Robyn Clarke said not only would the park create local jobs, but it would also reinforce servicing infrastructure.
“Construction of the Peel Business Park will create jobs for locals, reinforce servicing infrastructure and attract new investment and services to the Peel region," she said.
“After years of Peel Business Park being talked about but nothing happening under the previous government, it is fantastic to see the McGowan government moving forward with this initiative and creating jobs for locals throughout the region.”
Mandurah MP David Templeman congratulated everyone involved for their hard work to produce what will be a "great confidence boost for the Peel region".
"Transform Peel has been developed as a long-term program to support economic growth, diversification and jobs creation," he said.
“It contributes to addressing the region’s rapid population growth rate, high unemployment, and transition from a population-driven economy to an export-traded economy.
“We are now seeing tangible evidence of the Transform Peel project moving off the drawing board and into physical, on-site activities, representing exciting milestones in this transformational project.”
The first 11 lots in Stage 1 are now available for purchase, with five lots already under offer from a mix of agri-businesses and industrial companies.
The Peel Business Park is one of three components of the Transform Peel initiative - the other two are the Peel Food Zone and the Peel Integrated Water Initiative.
The total Transform Peel project is set to create over 33,000 new jobs by 2050.