Australia's 2032 Olympic host city begins construction

SYDNEY, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Following its successful 2032 Olympic bid last year, the Australian city of Brisbane has begun construction on a nearly 2.6 billion Australian dollars (about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars) train network upgrade.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Tuesday that the major project would deliver faster rail services between the state's capital and surrounding areas, serving as a key link between Brisbane and the Gold Coast -- two of the major locations where Olympic events would take place.

The new construction is also expected to aid the state's COVID-19 economic recovery.

"My government is committed to seeing transport times between the Gold Coast and Brisbane reduced, as we continue to see the population increase in key suburban areas along the rail corridor," said Palaszczuk.

The state government pledged some 1.121 billion Australian dollars (about 810 million U.S. dollars) to the project and called on the federal government to match the investment.

"We know that this project will deliver an abundance of economic and social benefits to the Logan region, and for all those who use the rail line to travel between the Gold Coast and Brisbane," said Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey.

The Queensland government has framed the Olympic bid, which it won in July of last year, as an opportunity to drive business and tourism, as well as a cost effective way to upgrade state infrastructure.

The cost proposal stated the Games would generate 8.1 billion Australian dollars (about 5.8 billion U.S. dollars) for the state in international tourism and social benefits, from a total investment of over 5 billion Australian dollars (about 3.6 billion U.S. dollars).

Brisbane will also be the first Olympic host city that is contractually obliged to host the "climate positive" Games.

While full plans of how the city would offset more emission than it produces are yet to be laid out, the state government has previously announced that 80 percent of venues for the Olympics already exist.

This means athletes would be lodged in existing hotels and rely in part on public transport when traveling between events.