The latest additions to Australia's Infrastructure Priority list have been announced, with the planned upgrade to Melbourne's M80 Ring Road listed as a 'high priority project'.

The Infrastructure Priority List identifies nationally significant projects and initiatives in every state and territory. The list is regularly updated as the Infrastructure Australia Board receives and assesses new business cases from project proponents.

Infrastructure Australia has positively assessed business cases for the following four projects:

• M80 Ring Road Upgrade (Victoria)—High Priority Project
• Perth—Forrestfield Airport Rail Link (Western Australia)—Priority Project
• Moorebank Intermodal Terminal (New South Wales)—Priority Project
• Adelaide-Tarcoola Rail Upgrade (South Australia)—Priority Project

Chief Executive Philip Davies says with the cost of congestion estimated to reach $53 billion per year by 2031, congestion-busting infrastructure projects are a matter of national priority.

“Melbourne's M80 Ring Road Upgrade is identified as a High Priority Project on the updated Infrastructure Priority List as it addresses road congestion on a 38-kilometre freeway used by more than 160,000 vehicles per day.

“The M80 Ring Road Upgrade will provide additional capacity on a vital corridor that connects major population centres in Melbourne's north and west to the CBD, and facilitates access to the city's port, airports and other major roads."

The Perth—Forrestfield Airport Rail Link will address the lack of public transport access to the eastern region of Perth and Perth Airport, and reduce road congestion in the city's east. Improving public transport access to Perth Airport will help manage ongoing growth, as passenger numbers double over the next 20 years.

“Development of an Intermodal Terminalat Moorebank in Sydney's south-west is part of a long-term strategy to increase the carriage of freight by rail. The updated business case shows this project will provide a significant boost to Sydney's intermodal terminal capacity, allowing for much more freight to be transported to and from Port Botany by rail. Port Botany currently accounts for almost 30 per cent of Australia's container exports and imports, and is projected to continue to grow," Davies says.

The Adelaide-Tarcoola Rail Upgrade brings forward the re-railing of 600km of track originally scheduled to be undertaken over the next 25 years. This will improve capacity on the line between Adelaide and Perth, to support the projected growth in national freight volumes.

“Investment in Australia's national freight network is vitally important if we are to make the most of our population growth and our close proximity to the booming economies of China and South-East Asia. At the national level, the Australian Infrastructure Audit 2015 projected the economic contribution of rail freight services to grow from $5.4 billion in 2011 to $9.5 billion by 2031," Davies says.

The updated Infrastructure Priority List is now available.