Perth is set to get a $1.85 billion World Trade Centre after a developer's unsolicited bid has progressed beyond the initial assessment phase, a project Premier Colin Barnett has called a landmark for the city.
The unsolicited bids policy was first announced before the 2015 Budget as part of measures to sell off public land to reduce state debt. It was adopted a year ago and this is the first bid to make it past the first hurdle.
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Perth Stadium by drone
Brett Flatters took his drone out of a spin across the river in East Perth on Saturday to check out the process of the new Perth Stadium.
While the announcement of a twin-tower World Trade Centre could raise some eyebrows, the name is not uncommon globally, with the World Trade Centers Association of which this proponent is part licensing more than 300 such centres, most of which bear the WTC branding with the city name affixed to the end.
The two towers will also be of different lengths, the smaller blending with other Perth skyscrapers with 36 floors and the the larger soaring to 75, which will by far leave Perth's present two tallest buildings, Central Park and Brookfield Place, in the shade.
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The proponent belongs to the WTC association which will link Perth to the 327 other locations worldwide, including one in Melbourne.
The project, which will include commercial, residential and entertainment precincts, will occupy 1.9 hectares of land between Perth and McIver train stations, and will include building above the existing train line.
It involves buying the state-owned land, with the proponent already having bought the privately owned Myer Megamart building, now known as the Northbridge Centre, in a deal previously reported to be worth about $50 million.
Announcing the project on Wednesday, WA Premier Colin Barnett said the price for the state-owned land would be made public once negotiated.
"This will be great for Perth, it's a dramatic development and will revitalise the area around the rail station," he said in a press conference on Wednesday.
"It ties in with the City Link project."
He said that section of the CBD was underused.
"The unsolicited bid process was inviting private developers to come in and identify land they think should be developed and this was not seen by government as a site that should be developed - it was just seen as part of the rail system," he said.
"They have taken an entrepreneurial look and they like its location on the rail line, the central location near the cultural centre.
"I personally am comfortable with [the height] I am sure there will be some debate about that but let's face it, Perth is a rapidly growing city ... we need to capitalise on that.
"This is a landmark for Perth, a big step in the city's development."
Mr Barnett said the Indian Ocean region would become increasingly important for WA, which accounted for around 45 per cent of Australian exports, but had traditionally had mainly fostered connections with the United Kingdom and United States.
In the past few decades Japan and China had become major players but these tended to be big corporations, and he expected the WTC to bring in another tier of business to allow WA's development in areas including agriculture, tourism and international education.
"Perth is Australia's west coast capital and Indian Ocean city and we are building links," he said, mentioning the recent announcement of Perth forming a sister-city relationship with Indian state, Andhra Pradesh, and WA's history of trade in the Gulf region.
The proponent will need to demonstrate financial and technical capacity to deliver the project.
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