Community
27 February, 2025
Towards 2035
A NEW roadmap to show the Far North is not just a tourist destination has been unveiled by Advance Cairns.
Roadmap 2035 is based on fiver pillars of ‘our place in the region’, diversification and innovation, liveability, sustainability and jobs and skills.
Key focuses are:
A more resilient and robust Bruce Highway
A fully-sealed Kennedy development Road (alternative inland route)
Completion of the 5000 tonne common user facility shiplift in the Cairns marine precinct
A thriving sustainable aviation fuel industry across the North and Far North.
Advance Cairns chairman Nick Trompf said there were clear advantages unique to the region, such as the proximity to Asia-Pacific, natural assets and the international airport “which set us apart”.
“While Advance Cairns has led its development, the success of this roadmap will be determined by how it is adopted and adapted by a far broader church of influential leaders of business, industry and government- throughout the region.
“This roadmap identifies these advantages – and others – and acts to harness the opportunity, ambition and future markets to set ourselves clear goals over the next decade to ensure a prosperous future for the region.”
Advance Cairns chief executive officer Jacina Reddan said Roadmap 2035 provided “a clear, actionable framework to guide our region’s growth, ensuring we capitalise on our strengths while addressing challenges”.
The roadmap was launched at a lunch last Friday attended by more than 150 people.
Among the speakers were Silica Resources Australia executive chairman Peter Lansom who gave details of their silica sands project at Mourilyan set to start mining in 2028 and regarded as among the “purest’ in the world.
Jet Zero industrial manager Adam Douglas spoke about a sustainable aviation fuel plant being established in Townsville and backed by Airbus and Qantas. It would use renewable biomass from sugar mills and supply fuel to Cairns Airport.
EQ Resources operations manager Rayn MacNeill outlined how their critical tungsten mine, which employed 150 people at Mt Carbine, supplied stocks to the rest of the world outside China (which had 83 per cent) and the US which no longer exported the product.
In the roadmap, Cairns Airport chief executive officer Richard Barker said, by 2035, Cairns Airport was well placed to be the second major international airport in Queensland.
“In addition to being the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is ideally located to take advantage of the rapidly emerging middle class in Asia, using a new generation of long-range narrow body jets that can reach Cairns from deep in Asia,” he said. “These aircraft, which make up most new aircraft orders, can reach Cairns from destinations such as Japan, China, Korea and Vietnam, but they cannot reach Brisbane or Gold Coast.”
