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AAP
AAP
Politics
Tara Cosoleto

Qld government cops criticism over Gabba blow-out

The cost to rebuild Brisbane's Gabba stadium is more than double the original estimate of $1 billion (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

The Queensland government says the Olympics will transform Brisbane like Expo 88 as it faces criticism over the cost blow-out for a key stadium rebuild.

More plans for the Woolloongabba precinct were unveiled on Saturday, a day after a landmark $7 billion funding deal was signed for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic venues.

The precinct will have more housing, shopping and dining areas, along with a walkable travel corridor to connect the city and South Bank to the Gabba stadium, Cross River Rail and the Brisbane Metro.

The upgraded precinct will modernise Brisbane the way the 1988 World Expo did, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said.

"It's an incredible vision coming together for our great city," he told reporters on Saturday.

"The place will be bustling and it will be somewhere that people come from around the city, around the region, around the state, the country - even the world to see and experience."

But the opposition is feeling less positive about the Gabba rebuild cost.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Friday confirmed $2.7 billion had been set aside for the project - more than double the $1 billion originally estimated in 2021.

The state government is solely funding the stadium rebuild, while the federal government will foot the entire bill for a new Brisbane Arena.

Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie said the premier needed to explain why the Gabba costs rose by nearly 300 per cent in a year.

"How can Queenslanders trust that it's not going to blow out again?" Mr Bleijie asked reporters on Saturday.

"Queenslanders need accountability with an independent delivery authority overseeing the Olympic infrastructure spend because at the end of the day, it is Queensland taxpayers' money."

Dr Miles said the government had gone with the best option for the Gabba after assessing different redevelopment proposals.

"They all came in at roughly similar amounts but with a far inferior outcome," he said.

"'So we've taken the decision, based on that very detailed analysis, to go ahead with a major rebuild of the Gabba."

Both state and federal governments have also committed to almost $1.87b for five new venues and upgrades of nine existing ones.

The new venues include indoor sports centres at Breakfast Creek, Chandler, the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay, to host basketball, wheelchair basketball, gymnastics and boxing.

There will also be a new whitewater venue in Redlands for canoe events and potentially a new indoor sports centre at Logan for training or competition.

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