Ambitious $2.6b plan to create Australia’s first ‘integrated entertainment city’ north of Brisbane

An ambitious $2.6 billion proposal to create Australia’s first integrated entertainment city, including a permanent world expo, north of Brisbane have been lodged by Infinity Planet which hopes to have the project up and running ahead of the 2023 Olympic Games.

Infinity Planet this week lodged a development application with the City of Moreton Bay for the project, which will be located on a 68ha site along the Bruce Highway at Elimbah, which is just south of Beerwah.

The project plans to deliver indoor and outdoor theme parks, cultural pavilions, a 9,000-seat "city hall" centrepiece venue, a 136,000sqm internationally-themed retail and dining precinct, and a “globally connected” business and technology park.

The development application is also proposing to deliver more than 700 new hotel rooms ranging from glamping accommodation through to three-star and five-star hotels.

“We are creating a world of endless possibilities, which will bring together people from around the world to celebrate the best aspects of humanity and nature,” says Infinity Planet CEO and founder Ramin Ahmadi.

Business News Australia has sought details of Ahmadi's experience in the development industry.

“Infinity Planet will be so much more than a revolutionary tourism and leisure destination. It will truly change lives by fostering a shared understanding of our human heritage, celebrating those things that make our cultures unique, and highlighting the very best of human endeavours and achievements," he says.

“This combination of entertainment, education and celebration of culture is a concept that has been successful in many locations across the world, particularly in the Middle East, but this is the first time it will have been delivered in Australia.

“This will be like a permanent world expo right on Brisbane’s doorstep.

“We are very excited to launch our project today, and we can’t wait to welcome all Australians and tourists from around the globe to our world of endless possibilities.”

Infinity Planet is expecting up to 1.2 million people to visit the project’s theme parks annually, while 1.8 million are expected to access the project’s “experiential-retail offering”.

The accommodation offering in the planned development represents close to 300,000 additional room nights per year, which Infinity Planet says will accommodate about 800,000 international visitors who are expected to spend $88 million per year on accommodation alone.

The project estimates it will create the equivalent of 1,075 direct full-time jobs over the five-year construction period, and another 1,320 indirect full-time-equivalent jobs across the supply chain.

Ahmadi says Infinity Planet will reshape the regional economy and deliver a transformative economic and social legacy by positioning Moreton Bay as Queensland’s next major tourism and innovation precinct.

“We will also deliver a leading-edge environmental solution, maximising water and energy efficiency and sustainable building principles, and we will invest strongly in solar electricity and batteries to support the precinct’s energy needs,” he says.

“Infinity Planet will be a car-free zone, with vehicles restricted to external parking areas and visitors encouraged to come and go by train, via Elimbah railway station.

“In every way this will be a sustainable project, including how people move through and around the precinct.”