Sydney Plan Backs Industrial Land And Freight Networks For Construction Supply

Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the final Sydney Plan, pointing to its stronger protection of industrial land and its recognition of freight and supply chains as central to the heavy construction materials sector.

The industry body said the plan acknowledges that Sydney’s growth relies on maintaining industrial land and freight networks that deliver materials to construction sites.

CCAA Chief Executive Officer, Michael Kilgariff, said, “Concrete, cement and aggregates are fundamental to every new home, road, rail line, school and hospital, and the planning system needs to protect the supply chain that gets those materials to construction sites.

“CCAA has consistently advocated for industrial land to be protected from incompatible development, particularly where it supports concrete batching and distribution facilities that need to be located close to the communities and projects they serve.”

The organisation raised its concerns directly with NSW Premier Chris Minns in 2024, arguing that moving concrete batching plants further from construction markets would increase transport distances, congestion, emissions and construction costs.

Concrete generally requires delivery within 90 minutes of batching. That makes proximity between plants and construction sites important in a congested city such as Sydney.

The final Sydney Plan commits to protecting state and regionally significant industrial land and maintaining locally significant industrial lands that support local areas and supply chains. It also recognises the need for industrial land to leverage key freight locations.

“These are important principles and closely align with what CCAA has been calling for,” Kilgariff said.

“We particularly welcome the recognition that locally significant industrial land has an important supply-chain function. For our industry, that means ensuring there are suitable locations for concrete batching plants close to where Sydney is actually building.”

Industrial Land Pipeline And Freight Corridors

CCAA also backed the Plan’s target for a pipeline of around 250 hectares of development-ready industrial land each year. The organisation pointed to the commitment to safeguard critical freight corridors and supply chains from incompatible land uses.

“Freight is a critical part of the heavy construction materials supply chain, and it needs to be planned alongside housing, infrastructure and industrial land,” Kilgariff said.

“The Sydney Plan rightly recognises the importance of protecting freight corridors and connecting industrial lands with ports, intermodal terminals and markets.”

The Plan’s recognition of first- and last-mile freight connections drew support from the industry body. Concrete, cement and aggregates are high-volume materials. Longer transport distances add costs, congestion and emissions.

“For our industry, efficient first- and last-mile freight connections are particularly important,” Kilgariff said.

“We also welcome the Plan’s recognition of the Southern Sydney Freight Line and the important role it plays transporting construction materials from the Southern Highlands into Sydney.”

Call For A Dedicated Materials Plan

CCAA said the final Plan represented progress but the organisation would continue to push for a dedicated NSW Heavy Construction Materials Plan.

The proposed framework would combine land-use planning, future materials demand, freight access and protection of strategically important facilities.

“The Sydney Plan gets important foundations right, but we now need to build on them with a dedicated Heavy Construction Materials Plan,” Kilgariff said.

“That would bring together land-use planning, future materials demand, freight access and the protection of strategically important facilities into one long-term framework.

“If NSW wants to build more homes and infrastructure faster and more affordably, planning for the materials needed to build them has to be part of the equation.”

The priorities align with CCAA’s work through the NSW Freight Transport Advisory Council, including better first- and last-mile access and protection of concrete batching plants, terminals and depots from incompatible encroachment.

Last Updated on August 13, 2026 by Nick Ross