The NSW budget has allocated $89 million to start construction or continue planning for major works around Wagga for new roads, an industrial zone and hospital upgrades.
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The 2021-22 budget handed down on Tuesday provided $6.7 million to start work on replacing Marshalls Creek Bridge in Wagga in the next financial year.
The Olympic Highway intersection upgrades at Travers Street and Old Narrandera Road received $1.1 million to continue planning.
Both projects date back to the 2018 Wagga byelection campaign, when they were announced as "very significant improvements" by then Roads Minister Melinda Pavey.
The largest single item of spending for Wagga was $23 million for infrastructure such as roads, water and internet connections to existing and new businesses at Bomen's industrial zone.
The infrastructure spending will benefit the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics Hub at Bomen designed to improve transferring of goods between trucks and trains.
The next biggest item was $22.4 million to continue work on the Wagga Base Hospital's redevelopment and car park, with a close third being $22.1 million for developing the special activation precinct at Bomen.
The special activation precinct was designed to create 6000 new jobs in Wagga by encouraging new industrial developments by building enabling infrastructure and a fast-tracked planning approval system.
"A lot of the projects have already been announced but this is the actually allocation of dollars for this financial year," Wagga-based Nationals MLC Wes Fang said.
"There's the special activation precinct, continued spending on hospitals for Wagga and Tumut and their car parks, and $2 million in new money for new works on social housing in Wagga in addition to what has been announced.
"The Nationals in government are absolutely supporting the Wagga electorate, just look at the millions that are flowing in here."
The budget also provided $8.3 million to continue the $30 million project to relocate the Riverina Conservatorium of Music and refit its new home with a recital hall and education complex and $1.1 for the Wagga council's active travel plan.
Independent Wagga Joe McGirr welcomed the funding for the hospitals and car parks and significant contributions to the special activation precinct.
"It is a bit disappointing at this stage that there doesn't seem to be much funding for initiatives from the Ice Inquiry; that's a big issue in regional NSW and I'm certainly wanting to confirm funding for the rebuilding of the Wagga Public school, which is extremely important," Dr McGirr said.
Wagga Labor councillor Dan Hayes said the budget lacked new projects for Wagga but had found money to fund $50 million for new Dine and Discover vouchers exclusively for Sydney businesses.
"The budget just kicks along projects announced during the 2018 by-election. But considering the broken promise of the hospital car park, I'm deeply concerned about these projects actually being delivered as promised," he said.
"Since 2018 they haven't really announced anything new for our area. We are being forgotten about again.
"Instead we see things like massive infrastructure for Sydney and more Dine and Discover vouchers being launched for Sydney only while our businesses are ignored."
Business NSW Murray-Riverina regional manager Anthony McFarlane said it was good to see the budget provide "quite a bit of money" over the next 12 months to progress Wagga's major projects.
"For Wagga and the broader Riverina, the announcements are largely already known and are continuation of existing programs," he said.
"It's a bit of a 'steady as she goes' budget.
"From a state perspective, the infrastructure program continues at record levels and the NSW government has taken he approach of building the state out of the pandemic and that is a good thing in the long term."
Mr McFarlane said the government reducing the budget deficit to $7.9 billion provided a strong foundation to react to the challenges of the pandemic if needed.
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