A $440-million Federal Government regional network logistics hub fund that would see the construction of railway terminals and warehouses along the Darwin-Tarcoola rail line was recently given national priority status.

The regional logistics hubs – designed to take advantage of the benefits from several projects in agriculture, rare earths, solar, gas, and minerals scheduled to begin in the next couple of years – will be centred around Alice Springs, Katherine, and Tennant Creek.

The hubs are also expected to boost supply chain capacity across the NT, which the government said will benefit communities and improve employment in remote areas.

Without identifying specific projects, the NT Government is forecasting projects in mining, minerals, and energy industries to reach $38 billion and create up to 6,000 construction jobs, with most of the investments and employment growth centring in both remote regions with a high population of First Nations people.

The NT’s mining sector, which the NT Government is eyeing as a central revenue source, despite falling royalties in recent years, has welcomed the investment that is said it would aid in the reduction of the infrastructure shortage currently being experienced.

“The mining industry welcomes investment in addressing the infrastructure gap we have in the Territory,” NT Minerals Council executive director Cathryn Tilmouth said. “To attract future mining business operations, the Territory needs to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to de-risk opportunities, ensure supply chain certainty and value-add to downstream processing opportunities.

“Regional logistic hubs are a step towards addressing these issues.”

Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics Minister Eva Lawler said improving rail efficiency and intermodal capacity along the north-south corridor removes investment barriers for proposed mining, agricultural, and energy projects across the NT.

“Having projects accepted onto the Australian national infrastructure priority list is great news for the Northern Territory, I will continue to work with the Federal Government and Infrastructure Australia to ensure the best outcomes are achieved,” Ms Lawler said.