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ABC News
ABC News
Business
Stephen Hutcheon

Sydney's crane count is down, and they're not all going to Melbourne

With Australia's population topping 25 million this year, our major cities are not just spreading out, they're also stepping up.

Construction cranes have become a permanent feature of the urban landscape as developers compete to build more apartment and office towers and governments play catch-up with infrastructure.

The latest edition of the RLB Crane Index shows that crane numbers in Australia have hit an all-time high of 735, up from 684 at the last count.

Sydney retains its mantle as crane capital of Australia, but has recorded a net loss of 21 cranes — by far the biggest drop in the survey.

Other urban centres are taking up the slack, including the Central Coast, just north of Sydney, which saw a net gain of 15 cranes.

But the biggest mover was Melbourne. With the Victorian capital on track to become Australia's most populous city by 2030, the city recorded a net gain of 35 cranes.

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