Western Australia: Packing Industrial Project Punch!

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Pack your bags and head Down Under. Western Australia just might be Project Nirvana. Western Australia, more than five times the size of Texas, is Australia's largest state, but only slightly more than 2 million people live there. But don't be fooled by the size of the population. In terms of industrial projects, Western Australia punches well above its population weight. According to Industrial Info's International Project Database, Western Australia has more than $123 billion of major projects in the offing.

As a comparison, only two states in the U.S. have a higher value of projects--Texas and California. Texas boasts about of $150 billion of projects, and California has about $135 billion of projects. The next U.S. state in terms of project spending is Florida, with approximately $57 billion.

California has a population of approximately 37 million and is purportedly the sixth-largest economy in the world. Texas has a population of about 25 million people, while Florida's population is about 18 million. So how can Western Australia, with a population of only 2 million in a country that has a total population of only 20 million, be hot on the heels of America's power-house states? The answer is two-fold: resources and proximity to market.

The Resources

Western Australia is blessed with more than its fair share of natural resources. It has some of the largest reserves on the planet of natural gas, iron ore, uranium and mineral sands. It also has world-class reserves of bauxite, gold and diamonds, and significant reserves of other minerals such as copper, lead, zinc, lithium and molybdenum.

Proximity to Market

Forty percent of the world's population lives in Western Australia's time zone. Furthermore, the countries in this time zone are almost all rapidly developing economies, hungry for Western Australia's resources. China, of course, is the jewel in this crown. With a population of 1.3 billion, a nearly double-digit GDP growth rate, and only a two-week shipping time (close by international standards), China is undoubtedly the driving force behind Western Australia's dynamic economy. Add to this to the fact that the world's second-largest emerging economy, India, with a population of 1.15 billion, is only 2.5 hours outside Western Australia's time zone, and the state's future looks just as bright as its present.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.