If we are going to play the comparison game you forgot the following for Gladstone:
* Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) – one of the largest alumina refineries in the world;
* Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL) – Australia’s largest aluminium smelter;
* Cement Australia (CA) – Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of cement;
* Orica Australia – the world’s largest industrial grade ammonium nitrate plant, a world scale sodium cyanide plant and a chloralkali plant
* Rio Tinto Alcan Yarwun – Alumina Refinery – the world’s first greenfield alumina refinery to be constructed since 1985
It also has a university campus, farming and other industry in the area. It is not totally reliant on LNG either. Gladstone Port currently exports 79 million tonnes per annum vs Dampier at 82 million tonnes. Gladstone is the 5th largest coal port in the world.
LNG projects:
The Australia Pacific LNG plant $7.7 billion - will create 10,000 jobs alone for Gladstone
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au...sed-35m-lng-plant-to-create-up-to-18600-jobs/
BG Group recently signed Australia's largest LNG deal, for $60 billion, creating a further 5,000 jobs during construction in Gladstone - $8 billion cost.
Santos GLNG $7.7 billion - 3000 peak jobs
Gladstone LNG $1 billion - 120 jobs
Shell Australia LNG cost TBC - 2500 to 3000 jobs
Southern Cross LNG cost TBC - 300 jobs
Project Sun LNG $1.5 billion - 400 jobs
In total over 20,000 direct jobs, just from LNG construction not to mention the support industries required. The flow on effect in the economy will be huge.
For a town of 40,000, where will they house an extra 20,000+ LNG construction workers all earning over $100k p.a.? There are currently 200 houses for rent in Gladstone.
Future developments (non LNG) still to come also in the next 3-4 years:
* Gladstone Pacific Nickel $5 billion project - 2300 jobs
* Gladstone Port expansion $1.3 billion - 500 jobs
* Boulder Steel $1.4 billion - 1500 jobs
* Balaclava Island Coal $1.5 billion - 800 jobs
* Queensland rail $500 million - 350 jobs
* Gladstone water board $320 million - 400 jobs
* Arrow energy pipeline $480 million - 300+ jobs
So there we have another 6000+ employees required.
Including partners and children we are talking about doubling the population of Gladstone in the next few years.
The growth that has been seen in Karratha is still to come in Gladstone. There is no way that construction can keep up with demand for housing and we are starting from a much much lower cost base of just $350k.
Karratha's explosion in median house prices from $350k to $780k happened in just 2.5 years from mid 2005 to end of 2007. There is no reason Gladstone couldn't experience similar growth, as the same factors are present in Gladstone now as were in Karratha then.
http://www.pdc.wa.gov.au/media/33605/karratha housing and land snapshot june 2008.pdf
