From Perth to the Pilbara, billions of dollars at work in WA major projects pipeline

The final months of 2024 brought a flurry of ribbon-cutting at major WA infrastructure projects but there’s no need to put away the work boots and high-vis in 2025. Western Australia enters the new year with a thumping jobs market and decisions looming on the next wave of investments. It’s not quite the explosion of activity seen in the Great Boom of 2004 to 2014, yet there will be plenty of opportunities in the Golden State. The West Australian has compiled a list of the biggest projects in construction and those most likely to begin in the near future. Oil and gas tops the charts, while miners are hoping for a bounce back after a tough year. Alkimos desalination plant will rev up within months, construction is expected to start on the new Women and Babies Hospital, and early work on Perth Airport’s new runway will get under way. WA is the “best place in the country to invest”, Premier Roger Cook said. “Delivering major infrastructure is a key part of our economic plan for WA, and we’ve put a pipeline of projects in place to keep our economy strong into the future,” he told The West Australian. Iron ore The past 12 months reminded markets — and politicians — that even iron ore is not invincible. Prices for WA’s most important commodity suffered a steady descent and the bears think there could be more to fall. Predictions of sub-$US100 per tonne prices won’t fill the majors with glee, but they will be able to stomach further hits before really starting to sweat. Rio Tinto expects to open the new $US2 billion ($3.1b) Western Range mine in 2025. Investors were told last month that the board could sign off three new mines by the end of 2025 — Brockman 4, Hope Downs 1 and a growth project at West Angelas. The mining giant has environmental approvals in train for the expansion of the high-cost West Angelas mine, which was built more than 20 years ago. Fellow major BHP officially hit go on the Western Ridge Crusher Project last year at a cost of about US$943 million ($1.5b). First production is expected in the March quarter of 2027. In Train No projects in WA’s recent history have been beset by blow-outs and delays quite as severe as Metronet. But Transport Minister Rita Saffioti has had plenty of relief in recent months with red ribbons to cut as new rail links open. Ellenbrook and Yanchep are now finally carrying passengers, while work is still under way on three big projects totalling about $4bn in Perth’s south. The infrastructure binge has meant plenty of jobs while worsening the shortage of workers in housing construction. Next on the agenda will be a signalling program to boost capacity, followed by a scheme to extend platform lengths across Perth to fit new, longer, trains. Planners have also been taking a look at a rail line to East Wanneroo through Perth’s northern suburbs, and potentially light rail nearer to the city, but no word yet on when — or if — they will ever happen. Perdaman Activity at Perdaman’s $6bn Ceres urea plant has been slow since Clough and Saipem mobilised on site in April 2023. Only early works and earth works have been under way so far at the project near Karratha. But backers of the manufacturing facility — the vision of Vikas Rambal — reckon it is still on track for production in 2027. That’s because the plant will be assembled using modules constructed offshore, which are due to start arriving in March 2025. Woodside has used a similar method for the nearby second LNG train at Pluto. Project documents show 2,600 staff employed on Ceres as at July this year — with 600 in Milan and 1,850 in India. By the time activity peaks, Perdaman says there will be 2,000 Aussies at work in the Pilbara. Mission critical Lithium lost its lustre in 2024 amid a rout for critical minerals. Expansion plans to ramp up production from giant WA lithium site Greenbushes were pushed back to the second quarter of the 2026 financial year. The mine is owned in a joint venture between Albemarle, Tianqi Lithium Corporation. and IGO. Battered lithium prices have also cast doubt on when IGO builds a second processing train at Kwinana. But it’s not bleak across the board. Perth headquartered conglomerate Wesfarmers expects to churn out its first lithium hydroxide — a refined version of the spodumene concentrate it is mining from the Mt Holland mine — in 2025. Iluka Resources wants to have its Eneabba rare earths refinery in production by 2027. Once finished the operation will take the mantle as Australia’s first fully-integrated refiner of rare earths — a geopolitically fraught commodity dominated by China and crucial in defence manufacturing. Costs for the operation have blown out substantially, and the project has been propped up almost entirely by Federal Government debt. Shining Brightly Gold miners have had far better fortunes with a super hot price for the metal. It’s helped spur a major expansion at Northern Star Resources’ famed Kalgoorlie super pit. The $1.5 billion build is tipped to extend the life of the mine by decades, and more than double processing capacity from 13 million tonnes a year to 27mtpa by 2029. Northern Star is also set to take control of De Grey Mining’s Hemi discovery in the Pilbara this year. Construction at the highly-anticipated $1.3 billion project was meant to start before the end of 2024. Environmental approvals should trigger a final investment decision to build the new mine, which would become one of the biggest gold mines in Australia and generate hundreds of jobs. City Skyline The pressure is on for workers at the Edith Cowan University CBD campus with the first cohort of students due to roll in for the first semester of 2026. The big build will need to be finished later this year. The highly-anticipated project has been touted as transformational for the city and is expected to draw thousands of new students to WA’s capital. It’s hoped the under-construction education hub at Yagan Square will drive business activity and create a new dynamic in a city trying to shake off the so-called “Dullsville” tag. The art of the possible A series of huge projects loom in the background — and it’s an art to judge which are likely and which are not. The $30 billion Browse LNG development would be a big boost for WA’s economy but Woodside Energy will need to navigate red tape and economic challenges. It’s still more likely than many of the headline-grabbing hydrogen proposals across the State which have so far struggled to get off the ground. Also strong chances for an eventual green light will be AUKUS infrastructure upgrades and the Westport outer harbour.