Economic of Darwin

Introduction

Darwin forms part of the Northern Territory with a population of around 245,000. The economy is highly concentrated on petroleum, and energy producing minerals. With the number of developments undertaken during the recent years, tourism is becoming a major pole of the economy. The city of Darwin is currently undergoing a fast expanding infrastructural development and is setting the necessary bases to become a major pole in the port industry especially in shipping and freight industries. The strategic position of Darwin linking Australia and Asia is a major driver for the current and future development of the City. The economy is benefiting from these development and the GRP amounts to $22 million. The expansion and modernization of the city is a source of job creation and the set up of the University 50 years age, is contributing in the high standard of living of the population.

INPEX LNG

With the INPEXLNG processing plant, Darwin is positioning itself as a strategic international hub for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). With a population of around 245,000, the development of this industry is an economic and social challenge for Darwin. It is expected that there will be a mix of positive and negative impact. In 2008, INPEX Corp showed interest in building and operating an LNG plant near Darwin and this will involve the extraction of natural gas from the offshore of North West of Australia and piping it sub sea to be redirected to a processing plant that will be located in Darwin. In 2012, the necessary infrastructures and the plant was set up in Darwin. The Government welcomed this project and described it as a driver of economic prosperity for Darwin. The plant production capacity was estimated to be more than 3 million tonnes per year and LNG will be sold to Tokyo electric and Tokyo Gas based on a long term deal.

The Economic Impact

The high development rate of Darwin is described as the Boom Syndrome. High number of workers in the construction...