Key Insights
- Infrastructure shapes industrial property demand – Access, roads, power and connectivity matter.
- Heavy vehicle access is improving – Key industrial routes are receiving investment.
- Energy capacity is expanding – Supporting future mining, processing and heavy industry.
- $77.85m in capital works – Continued investment in Karratha’s supporting infrastructure.
- Industrial needs are evolving – Economic diversification is creating new property requirements.
When I talk to businesses looking for industrial property in Karratha, the conversation is rarely just about the property itself.
Of course, the size of the workshop, hardstand, office, yard and access points matter. But so do the things outside the boundary fence – the roads that get you there, heavy vehicle access, power infrastructure, connections to major industry and the infrastructure being planned for the future.
Karratha sits at the heart of one of Australia’s most economically significant regions. According to the City of Karratha, our local economy generates more than $22 billion in annual economic output and supports almost 15,000 jobs, underpinned by globally significant resource industries, strategic ports and a highly skilled workforce.
For me, that makes infrastructure an important part of the industrial property conversation.
Industrial property doesn’t stop at the boundary fence
A great example is the recent investment at the entrance to the Karratha Industrial Estate.
The City of Karratha has completed a major upgrade to the Coolawanyah Road and De Witt Road intersection, including road widening and resurfacing, drainage works and additional street lighting.
What makes this particularly relevant to our industrial market is where it is and who uses it.
The intersection provides critical access to major businesses within the Karratha Industrial Estate and forms part of the RAV 10 network used by heavy vehicles.
The City specifically identified limited space for heavy vehicles among the issues the $1.9 million project was designed to address, with the upgrade intended to improve safety, functionality and access while contributing to the continued growth of the industrial estate.
For businesses moving trucks, machinery and equipment, this is the type of infrastructure that matters.
A property might have an excellent workshop and plenty of hardstand, but you still need to be able to efficiently get vehicles, equipment, people and materials in and out.
Powering the next generation of Pilbara industry
Energy is another important piece of the picture.
The WA Government’s Pilbara Energy Transition Plan is progressing a new approach to energy infrastructure across the region, focused on common-use transmission infrastructure that can connect renewable energy resources with major industrial users.
The North West Interconnected System services much of the Pilbara’s resources industry, and the State describes the region as WA’s “economic engine room”, contributing almost one-fifth of the State’s economic output each year.
The energy transition underway here is therefore about much more than electricity.
It is about building infrastructure capable of supporting the future needs of mining, processing and heavy industry.
Importantly, this isn't only a State Government view.
Infrastructure Australia has previously identified limited electricity connectivity and storage in the Pilbara as a potential constraint on investment, noting that individual industrial users have historically needed to establish their own generation infrastructure.
It also identified greater energy connectivity as having the potential to support emerging industries including clean hydrogen and ammonia, green steel and lower-emissions minerals processing.
More recently, Infrastructure Australia has reiterated the need for additional generation, storage and transmission infrastructure in the North West Interconnected System to support the decarbonisation of mining and heavy industry and the transition from fragmented private networks towards common-use transmission.
That makes energy infrastructure a very relevant part of the conversation about the Pilbara's future industrial landscape.
Investing locally
We're also seeing significant infrastructure investment closer to home.
The City of Karratha's 2026/27 Annual Budget includes a $77.85 million capital works program, supporting projects across Karratha, Dampier, Wickham, Roebourne and Point Samson.
That includes investment in roads, airport infrastructure, facilities and other essential assets needed to support a growing region.
One of the major road projects in the current program is the $4 million Bathgate Road upgrade.
The City is also investing almost $16 million specifically in renewing and upgrading existing community facilities and infrastructure, with significant works occurring at Karratha Airport.
These individual projects all serve different purposes, but together they demonstrate the continued investment required to support a regional centre of Karratha's scale.
Building an economy that can grow and diversify
There is another part of this story I think is worth watching.
Karratha will always have incredibly strong links to resources and energy, but there is also a deliberate focus on broadening the economy.
The City's Economic Development and Tourism Strategy 2025–2035, endorsed in February 2026, sets out a ten-year approach to economic diversification, investment and business growth.
Its priorities include strengthening economic resilience, enabling businesses to grow, supporting local enterprise and advocating for critical infrastructure.
That matters to the commercial and industrial property market.
As existing industries evolve and new industries establish themselves, their property requirements evolve too.
Different businesses need different combinations of workshop space, hardstand, warehousing, offices, heavy vehicle access, power and proximity to key infrastructure.
Having the right land, property and supporting infrastructure available is part of creating an environment where those businesses can operate.
Why I watch infrastructure as well as property
This is why I keep an eye on infrastructure announcements, planning decisions and major projects across Karratha and the wider Pilbara.
When I'm assessing an industrial property with a client, I'm not only looking at what's inside the fence.
I'm asking:
How does the site connect to the road network?
Can the property accommodate the vehicles and equipment the business needs to move?
What infrastructure services the area?
What industries and businesses are operating nearby?
And what's being planned for the area in the years ahead?
None of this means that an infrastructure project automatically increases property demand or values. Industrial property markets are influenced by many different factors, and every property and business requirement is different.
But infrastructure does provide important context.
Karratha's industrial properties don't exist in isolation. They're part of a much larger network of businesses, roads, energy infrastructure, ports, airports and major industry that keeps this region moving.
Understanding that bigger picture can help businesses and property owners make better-informed decisions.
And with significant investment continuing across Karratha and the wider Pilbara, it's a picture I'll continue to watch closely.
If you're considering buying, selling or leasing commercial or industrial property in Karratha, I'm always happy to talk about what I'm seeing in the local market.
Jodie Faulkner
Commercial Sales & Leasing Executive
Realmark Commercial Pilbara