Australian-made steel to help build for Brisbane 2032

Australian-made steel will help shape one of Brisbane’s key venues ahead of the 2032 Games, with InfraBuild securing the reinforcing steel contract for the $287.5 million revitalisation of the RNA Showgrounds.

The redevelopment is part of a $3.5 billion investment into the Athlete Villages ahead of Brisbane 2032 and will include a new 20,000 seat main arena, grandstands and horse pavilion.

Awarded by Hutchinson Builders, the contract will see reinforcing steel made from Australian scrap in our electric arc furnaces and processed into rebar at our Eagle Farm facility in Queensland.

It’s an exciting opportunity to see Australian-made steel used in infrastructure that will showcase Queensland to the world.

Australian steel for a growing Queensland

Chief Executive Officer Francisco Irazusta said the contract was an important milestone as construction on Games-related projects gets underway.

“We’re proud to have secured the first steel contract for a 2032 Games-related project and to see Australian-made reinforcing steel going into infrastructure that will showcase Queensland to the world.

“But the Olympics are only part of the challenge. Queensland has to build the Games while also delivering new hospitals, roads, rail, energy infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of new homes.

“You can’t switch steelmaking capacity on overnight. If Queensland wants Australian steel for the infrastructure it is building tomorrow, we need to invest in that capacity today.”

That investment is already happening.

We supply more than 450,000 tonnes of steel into Queensland each year and employ almost 1,000 people across the state. We’re also increasing capacity across our two electric arc furnaces from 1.4 million to 1.8 million tonnes a year by 2030.

As Francisco said:

“Queensland is building at a scale we haven’t seen before, and we want more of that growth to be built with Australian steel.”

Investing in local capability

Our investment in Queensland goes well beyond this project. A new 2,070 square-metre steel processing and distribution facility will open in Toowoomba in late 2027, capable of supplying 9,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel into the market each year.

The new facility will be operated by the Australian Reinforcement Company (ARC), a brand of InfraBuild, and will include new high-speed off-coil processing as well as upgraded heavy bar cutting and bending equipment. Construction will commence in late 2026 and the facility is expected to become operational in Q3 2027.

We’re also expanding our Hemmant and Eagle Farm facilities. Together, these three investments will increase our local manufacturing capability by almost 60,000 tonnes per year and create 90 new local jobs.

Stage 1 of the Hemmant expansion is already complete, adding 3,000 square metres to the facility and increasing capacity by 15,000 tonnes per annum. Stage 2 expansion plans are now underway.

Helping build Queensland

From major transport and health infrastructure to energy and city-shaping developments, our steel is already part of projects across Queensland.

We’ve supplied steel for Cross River Rail, Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, Waterfront Brisbane, Brisbane Ferry Terminals, Gold Coast University Hospital and the MacIntyre Wind Farm.

Today, InfraBuild operates 37 sites across Queensland and employs more than 930 people in the state. As Australia’s only domestic manufacturer of reinforcing steel, we’re continuing to invest in the people and local capability needed to support what Queensland builds next.