Two businesses in Australia’s Gold Coast Marine Precinct are planning to invest $71 million each in separate expansion projects. BusinessNewsAus.com reported that the projects at Gold Coast City Marina and The Boat Works, owned by two prominent Gold Coast entrepreneurs, were announced within a day of each other.
Gold Coast City Marina, owned and operated by the Gay family, said it will double its existing 42-acre facility on an adjacent site on the Coomera River. The news report stated that it will boost its refit capacity by 400 percent in an effort to target the superyacht market.
The proposal for The Boat Works farther up the river will modernize the refit yard and marina into a more upmarket operation that will include retail stores and upscale dining. Owner Tony Longhurst, whose brother Rodney Longhurst owns Riviera Yachts, proposed to build Australia’s first dry-stack marina, with storage for boats to 100 feet.
The development will also include a new 50-slip marina and waterfront village with boutiques and restaurants. According to the news report, work has already started on the first stage of the project, which will add 25 acres from an adjacent property.
The expanded marine precinct is expected to create 2,000 jobs along the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast Waterways Authority announced a dredging project last year that will deepen the local waterways.
“The Gold Coast will become the port of call for every type of boat, from leisure craft to larger commercial vessels as they travel the east coast between Melbourne and Sydney and the Whitsundays,” Tony Longhurst said. “The benefits of this increased visitation will flow on to the southeast economy in the form of jobs and business in all sectors.”
The Gold Coast Marine Precinct is home to Australia’s biggest boatbuilders, including Riviera and Maritimo. It also is the manufacturing hub for the Telwater Group, which builds the Quintrex, Stacer and Savage brands.
