14,525 population
33,606 kilometres squared land area
6,390 regional jobs
5,333 regionally based employees
(NB: includes CDP participants)
225 regional businesses
$1.46 billion total GRP
$2.59 billion total output
(output data represents the total gross revenue (total sales or total income))
$1.57 billion value added
(value of industry input)
Gateway to Asia Pacific
400 million people live within a 5 hour flight north
25 million people live within a 5 hour flight south
Major industry sector economic values 2018/19
| Sector | Output by sector ($ million) | Sector % of total regional output | Value add by sector ($million) | Employment by sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mining | 1,693.4 | 65.3 | 1,122.4 | 1,493 |
| Health care and social assistance | 129.1 | 5.0 | 87.2 | 852 |
| Education and training | 101.3 | 3.9 | 72.4 | 895 |
| Public administration and safety | 97.8 | 3.8 | 69.1 | 713 |
| Construction | 170.4 | 6.6 | 47.2 | 475 |
| Manufacturing | 84.2 | 3.2 | 14.1 | 128 |
| Transport, freight and logistics | 49.4 | 1.9 | 22.5 | 234 |
| Other services | 41.8 | 1.6 | 23.7 | 547 |
| Retail trade | 28.0 | 1.1 | 19.1 | 326 |
| Administrative and support services | 27.8 | 1.1 | 18.2 | 180 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 17.1 | 0.7 | 9.8 | 50 |
| Tourism | 7.8 | 0.3 | 4.0 | 81 |
Regional connectivity
Road
The Central Arnhem Road is the primary access road to the region and runs 675 kilometres from the Stuart Highway to Nhulunbuy, with a travel time between the towns of Katherine and Nhulunbuy of 8 to 10 hours over an approximate 720 kilometres. Although large sections of the road are unsealed, it is well-maintained and open to travel with a four-wheel drive vehicle and a Northern Land Council permit for the vast majority of the year.
See more information on the Central Arnhem Road here.
Air
Gove (Nhulunbuy) Airport is serviced by regular nonstop Airnorth commercial passenger flights from both Darwin and Cairns. Therefore, international visitors and workforce participants can quickly transit to Nhulunbuy in just over an hour from Darwin and 1 hour and 40 minutes from Cairns.
Airnorth, Fly Tiwi and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) also provide regular, scheduled services to to all major regional locations.
See more information on regional air connectivity here.
Digital
Telecommunication infrastructure is vital to the development of future-focused industries, and the East Arnhem region is serviced by the Arnhem Fibre Network, which provides broadband telecommunication services via the National Broadband Network (NBN).
The telecommunications services in the East Arnhem region are considered to be superior to some major cities and regional centres across the continent. Nhulunbuy boasts Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) infrastructure for residential and commercial use, with the remainder of the East Arnhem region able to connect with a combination of NBN satellite and Sky Muster services. The region also benefits from 4G mobile coverage in all major towns and communities.
See more information on telecommunications here.
Sea
The East Arnhem region benefits from having the Northern Territory’s second deepest naturally occurring port facilities, located on the Gulf of Carpentaria and about 14 kilometres from Nhulunbuy. A deep-water marine wharf services the town and region with complementary infrastructure, which accommodates a range of vessel sizes moving bulk goods and large-scale industrial equipment. It includes an all tides access Roll-on/Roll-off (RORO) wharf, public fishing wharf and launch facilities. It is also the location of an $8 million tourism precinct development due for completion in 2022, to improve hard standing facilities allowing more extensive and safer sea-based tourism. Melville Bay is sheltered, boasts deep-water access, and relatively low tidal movements, making it a user friendly and accessible harbour.