Infrastructure

Property developer Port Bouvard has booked a $29 million net loss for the 2009 financial year which includes a more than $30 million asset impairment charge as a result of a weakening property market.

The state government has committed more than $6 million towards upgrades at 30 regional airports across Western Australia.

The Economic Regulation Authority has knocked back Western Power's request to allow big increases in the price it charges for access to the state's main electricity grid for the next three years.

Opposition energy spokesman Mark McGowan today called on the state government to end 10 months of uncertainty surrounding the possible re-merger of Verve Energy and Synergy.

STATE Energy Minister Peter Collier has denied the government is preparing to abandon Premier Colin Barnett's mooted re-amalgamation of Verve Energy with Synergy.

The company in charge of the billion-dollar Oakajee deepwater port and rail network has appointed WorleyParsons to conduct the budget and engineering components of the $100 million bankable feasibility study.

THE first $1 million is always the hardest to earn, or so the saying goes.

WESTERN Australia's construction sector has been boosted with the awarding of $342 million in contracts to builders across the state as part of the federal government's infrastructure funding program.

The private sector should be given more opportunities in infrastructure provision.

The secret to successfully managing an expanding privately owned business is to act like it’s public, according to John Georgiou.

WESTERN Australia's business community has given cautious approval to initiatives proposed at last week's Council of Australian Government (Coag) meeting, aimed at streamlining the approvals process for taxpayer-assisted major infrastructure developments.

Barnett backs 9pm retail trading PREMIER Colin Barnett has announced that he will introduce a bill paving the way for retail trading hours to be extended to 9pm on weeknights.

THE drawn-out debate surrounding Western Australia's ageing grain transport rail network may have finally reached a workable solution.

GOOD help, so the saying goes, is hard to find.

When the economy is the issue, the fight is over how to pay for promises.

Paladin Energy has approved a $US71 million ($A88 million) expansion to its Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia, which will be smaller than originally targeted.

Airline Virgin Blue will increase its services to the Pilbara, announcing today it will start direct flights from Perth to Port Hedland in August.

Sydney-based Norfolk Group has secured a $96.5 million contract from BHP Billiton Iron Ore for rail signaling installation work as part of the miner's Rapid Growth Project 5.

WestNet Rail has resumed operations on four regional rail lines after striking an agreement with the Barnett government to assess the long-term future of the state's run-down grain rail network.

The Geraldton Port is responsible for facilitating significant levels of trade for the state, conservatively estimated to be worth $2.3 billion a year which is tipped to grow up to 20 per cent.

A PILBARA Port Authority governing the massive export centres of the north-west should one of the results of the proposed iron joint venture between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, according to the state opposition.

IS the commercial centre of the Pilbara moving west? BHP Billiton's proposed merger of its iron ore operations with those of Rio Tinto is the latest indication of the dynamic shift under way in the north-west, one that will tend to favour Karratha as the

THE Chinese government's approval of a critical $162 million cash injection into Gindalbie Metals by the company's Chinese partner, AnSteel, has delivered a major boost to the emerging Mid West iron ore industry.

Aquila, FMG to assess Pilbara port

The effects of a BHP Billiton-Rio Tinto JV would be felt all around the world.

Civil contractor Brierty has secured two Pilbara road contracts, valued at a total of $19 million, as it appoints chief executive Stuart Crofts to the board as managing director.

The state government has released a new planning framework that abolishes limits on the size of shopping centres and cuts the target for urban infill from Labor's "unrealistic" goal.

Opposition spokesperson Alannah MacTiernan has called for the removal of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto representatives on port authority boards due to constant conflict of interest.

Aquila Resources and Fortescue Metals Group have teamed up to investigate the potential for shared development of port facilities at Anketell Point in the Pilbara.

Premier Colin Barnett and Oakajee Port and Rail (OPR) chief Christopher Eves will hold joint meetings in China next month to meet potential project suppliers to the deep water port.

The state government is calling on potential water service providers to tender for the $391 million expansion of the Ord River irrigation scheme.

Barnett backs 9pm retail trading