A new quarry on the Bass Coast will create 20 new jobs and produce enough sand each year to fill 80 Olympic swimming pools.
The sand will go to Hanson's Yannathan plant to produce concrete for the booming Melbourne and Gippsland construction markets and will likely be used for the foundations of houses in the growing south-eastern suburbs, new schools, road projects and the Gippsland Rail Upgrade.
With a housing and infrastructure boom across Victoria, the demand for building materials is at an all-time high.
The average rock, gravel and sand required per person a year across the state is currently eight tonnes. With demand predicted to double by 2050, the state needs new and expanded quarries.
Raw building materials make up 35 per cent of construction costs and up to 40 per cent of major road expenditure. Transporting heavy materials is expensive and if the distance between quarries and build sites increases, infrastructure will be less affordable.
To help meet this demand, quarry approvals are on the rise, with 11 quarries approved across Victoria in the last year.
Victoria's first Extractive Resources Strategy,
