A once-in-a-generation transformation of Melbourne’s arts precinct will deliver Australia’s biggest contemporary art gallery, along with new public spaces, improved theatres and thousands of local jobs, according to Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

The new art gallery, NGV Contemporary, will be a world-leading, standalone gallery with a focus on contemporary art and design. It will also be Australia’s largest contemporary art gallery, and will be built on the site of the Carlton & United Breweries Building on Southbank Boulevard.

The project is expected to “bring the Southbank and arts precinct to life”, with 18,000sqm of new and renewed public space that will allow visitors to move easily from Southbank and the Yarra, through Melbourne’s iconic St Kilda Road cultural institutions. 

The project will also upgrade theatres and public spaces at the Arts Centre Melbourne, and transform 1 City Road into a new creative hub in the heart of the city.

It is expected that 10,000 jobs will be created during construction, as well as 260 ongoing jobs. 

“It’s a game-changer for our city that will cement Melbourne as the cultural capital of Australia,” says Andrews.