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Investing in Townsville

No other region of comparable size has the connection into the future prosperity of the Australian nation as Townsville.

Bernard Salt, Australian Demographer.

Townsville, a rapidly growing city in north Queensland, offers a strategic location with a diverse labour force, quality amenities and is the main hub for North Queensland, contributing significantly to the regional economy. Townsville City Council actively supports business and community initiatives, fostering an environment conducive to economic growth and welcoming inquiries from potential investors.

If you are wanting to expand to a new site or relocate to Townsville, contact Townsville’s Economic Attraction team on 13 48 10 or email economic.development@townsville.qld.gov.au.

We can assist with:

development applications and pre-lodgement advice
property searches
linking you to relevant community, commercial or government contacts.

Industrial Land Parcels

There are currently two large parcels of industrial land:

The Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct is strategically located 40km from Townsville off the Flinders Highway and adjacent to the Great Northern Railway (connecting Port of Townsville to Mount Isa).

The site offers competitive advantages including:

the North Australia Gas Pipeline being located adjacent to the site
rail connection to the Port of Townsville
raw water supply from the Haughton Pipeline.

For further information, contact David Edwards via email or phone 0417 789 290.

The Townsville North Rail Yards is a significant heritage place for the city of Townsville.

Established in the 1880s, the North Rail Yards served as a maintenance and construction depot for Queensland Rail for over a Century and was identified as a place of innovation in the 1900s, until the workshops were permanently closed in 1990.

Council has a vision to rejuvenate the significant heritage buildings in North Rail Yards and incorporate the development of commercial and public spaces, which will revitalise the area of the CBD, support the residential components and create a community hub within the North Rail Yards site.

To support this vision, Council has established North Rail Yard Developments as a company to lead and oversee development of the site, which will be the southern gateway into Townsville city and support high-density residential housing with commercial and cultural activities that educate and celebrate our city’s heritage and future.

Local Industry

Townsville State Development Area

Declared in 2003, the 4915-hectare Townsville State Development Area (SDA) is a defined area of land dedicated for industrial development. It is located about six kilometres south-east of the Townsville CBD and two kilometres south of the Port of Townsville.

Situated at the junction of the national road network (Bruce and Flinders Highways), with direct connections to major rail networks and the Port of Townsville, the Townsville SDA is positioned to be the preferred location in North Queensland for the establishment of industrial development of regional, state and national significance.

Townsville State Development Area

Start-ups and Innovators

Townsville has one of the largest startup ecosystems in Australia.

Combining Australia’s immigration-friendly policies, leading innovation hubs and world-class post-secondary and tertiary institutions, Townsville is a great city to start and grow any business idea you may have. As a leading innovation hub, Townsville has a variety of options for business and investors.

Defence Innovation Hub

The federal government is backing the efforts of the North Queensland Simulation Park (NQ Spark), which is establishing a collaborative defence industry precinct in critical technologies. This initiative represents northern Australia’s first collaborative defence industry hub and is based in Townsville.

Smart Precinct NQ

Smart Precinct NQ is the home of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in North QLD, supporting people with ideas to start and grow, support industry to innovate, and empower economic outcomes for Townsville and Queensland. They provide a central point of incubation and acceleration for idea generation, collaboration, problem-solving, commercialisation pathways and investment readiness. They connect and collaborate with entrepreneurs, SME’s, industry, government, researchers, investors and the wider community. Connect with the ecosystem, and Townsville's start up community through Smart Precinct NQ to leverage the support available and get your idea to the future first.

Technology Innovation Complex (TIC)

The 9,400-square-meter complex, will serve as a hub where engineering and IT students, industry partners, and researchers converge. It brings together undergraduate and postgraduate students in engineering and IT, industry partners, and researchers.

Townsville Region Hydrogen Hub

Townsville North Queensland has taken the next major step forward toward securing its future as a green manufacturing city, with Federal funding support to build a $137 million Green Energy Hydrogen Hub in Townsville. The project proponent – Edify and Siemens Energy – were supported by the North Queensland Hydrogen Consortium, James Cook University, Townsville City Council and the Australian Institute of Marine Science in their application.