 |
| Clive Palmer |
Leading businessman Professor Clive Palmer has announced plans for a massive
redevelopment of Palmer Coolum Resort in Queensland Australia which will generate 9,000 jobs for the Sunshine Coast and elevate the region to be one
of the world's top tourism destinations.
Professor Palmer today released concept plans for a new Sunshine Coast International
Airport, a new beachfront
hotel and retail development, convention centre, casino, theme park, water
park, aviary and aquarium at the Coolum site.
"This will boost the resort's workforce to more than
2500 staff when operating," he said. The new airport will be capable of
taking A380s and 747 Jumbo jets from Singapore,
Beijing and Tokyo
directly to the Sunshine
Coast. We estimate this
project and its flow on effects could generate more than 9,000 jobs for the Sunshine Coast region during construction.”
"Hawaii and other
Pacific nations have taken all the real tourism growth out of the Australian
and Queensland
economies. We have not been able to compete with the beachfront development at
Waikiki in Hawaii or with Fiji and other
destinations because of restrictions. As a consequence of this, Queensland jobs and
families have suffered as have our children's future and the state's revenue.
It's time we made a change and reclaimed the state's mantle as Australia's and
the world's premium tourist destination."
Professor Palmer said the project when completed will help
make the Sunshine
Coast one of the most
popular tourism regions in the world.
"I believe there is a strong willingness from people on
the Sunshine Coast for a major job creating project
like this to happen," he said. There haven't been any major tourism developments
in Queensland
since the 1970s and 1980s and we are looking to raise the bar again with this
project."
 |
| Palmer Coolum Resort |
Professor Palmer said a key to the Coolum project's success
would be the proposed expansion of the nearby Sunshine
Coast Airport
to allow for more flights from Asia.
"This will significantly boost the region's capacity to
accommodate both domestic and international visitors and it will create
enormous interest in a country such as China and its growing tourism
market.
"The Sunshine Coast is a magnificent region and the gateway to Fraser Island
and the Great Barrier Reef. We want to make it
one of the great tourism destinations on the planet."
Professor Palmer plans to link the revamped airport to the
resort with a proposed new monorail system.
"We also plan to operate an ocean-going hovercraft
service with capacity for up to 400 people from the Brisbane CBD to
Coolum," he said. This will enable people to get to the resort from Brisbane quickly. They
can stay at the resort or they can just come up on the night and enjoy an
amazing dining experience before going back to Brisbane."
Professor Palmer said the new beachfront hotels will offer a
thousand rooms and will include a rooftop entertainment area with ocean views.
He said the other proposals were for a high rollers casino,
an aquarium offering an "unforgettable experience", an aviary to
accommodate multiple species of native Australian birds in a sustainable
environment, a beachside water park and a theme park.
"The theme park has been designated for an 80 acre area
and our options include family oriented attractions," he said. "We
also plan to build a convention centre which can host 5,000 people and have
underground parking for up to 3,000 cars."
Professor Palmer said the redevelopment plans featured a
significant boost to the retail and dining offerings currently available at the
Palmer Coolum Resort.
 |
| Palmer Coolum Resort |
Professor Palmer said the development proposals would be put
to the Sunshine Coast community for consideration.
"We will spend the next six months seeing if the
community wants the Sunshine
Coast to lead the world,"
he said. "The construction phase would take approximately three years."
No comments:
Post a Comment