The project is the latest contribution to the territory government's 2030 target of establishing Darwin as a key centre for oil and gas operations, maintenance and workforce.

According chief minister Paul Henderson, the site at East Arm will provide a substantial boost to the region.

"The base will be the first in northern Australia and provide a purpose-built facility for vessels that supply offshore oil and gas projects," Mr Henderson said yesterday (February 20).

"We are fast becoming the oil and gas capital of Australia and are about to undergo a significant economic boom."

An agreement between gas companies such as Shell, Inpex and ConocoPhillips will see multiple firms utilising the supply base as part of their existing operations.

Mr Henderson stated the territory government will contribute $6 million of funding to provide water, power and sewage connections to the site in preparation for the development.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

Work will begin on adding three storeys to the industrial-era building at 231 Smith Street from next week, which will see 15 contemporary one and two-bedroom loft apartments added to the rooftop without disturbing its current occupants.

First built in 1903, Panama House currently houses popular eateries such as the Panama House Dining Room and Rice Queen restaurant, as well as an ANZ bank branch and hairdresser.

Speaking to Fairfax Media today (February 20), director for the site's developer James Tutton said that the end result will be an interesting addition to the streetscape.

"We're not touching the existing building – we'll leave it as is, take the area above it and literally develop that air space," he said.

"You can have a beautiful heritage building and a very contemporary structure on top."

Home to Melbourne's first suburban shopping strip, Smith Street is one of the capital city's oldest thoroughfares – and heritage buildings have played an important role in maintaining its historical importance.

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Speaking to the Herald Sun today (February 17), state planning minister Matthew Guy has outlined the vision, which will also look to abolish the height restrictions currently in place.

"I think it could lead to the centre of Melbourne becoming one of the truly great high-density population areas for Western cities anywhere in the world," he told the News Limited source.

"It doesn't mean that anything can go anywhere, but it does mean we are looking to expand high-rise, high-density in a central core of the city."

According to Mr Guy, the long-term focus would see the CBD boundaries redrawn to include an additional 720 hectares and would see high-rise buildings stretch from Carlton to Fishermans
Bend, as well as from Docklands to the Domain.

While the CBD grid was originally designed for a city of 1.5 million people, Melbourne's population has now climbed to 4.5 million.

The "Grand CBD" proposal is expected to be released today for public comment.

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has marked the occasion by awarding the 400th Green Star to the GippsTAFE Chadstone Campus Development in Victoria on Wednesday (February 15).

According to Romilly Madew, chief executive of the GBCA, the Green Star initiative has seen exponential growth since its introduction in 2004.

"Green Star has transformed Australia's property and construction industry – and our 400th certification is evidence of this fact," Ms Madew said (February 15).

"Today, more than 18 per cent of Australia's CBD office space is Green Star-certified, and a wide range of building types from schools and hospitals to industrial facilities and shopping centres have achieved Green Star ratings."

Ms Madew noted that the latest project certification indicated a move beyond office blocks and individual buildings, replaced an increasing focus on sites such as educational facilities.

Three buildings on the GippsTAFE Chadstone Campus Development site – including an administration building and two electrical and telecommunications training buildings – achieved one of the council's highest accolades -  a 5 Star Green Star Education Design v1 rating, signifying "Australian Excellence".

The $80 million site comes as part of the wider $290 million Revitalising Central Dandenong initiative and is expected to act as a catalyst for further investment in the area.

Led by government body Places Victoria – formerly known as VicUrban – the revitalisation project is estimated to take between 15 and 20 years to complete and is the second-largest urban renewal project in the country, behind Melbourne's Docklands.

The eight-storey building features over 14,000 square metres of office space, 202 car parks and additional retail space located on the ground floor.

Speaking to Fairfax Media (February 15), project manager Andrew Poulton explained that the six-star rating was achieved through water and energy measures, rather than relying on popular on-site generation commonly found in green buildings.

Pocket atriums are scattered throughout the structure and the windows feature a frit – rather than dark glass – to alleviate glare and heat.

Timber forms a key characteristic of the precinct's landmark, with wood lining the transparent foyers as well as the building's exterior beams.

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicate that in seasonally adjusted terms, the total value of dwelling finance commitments – excluding alterations and additions – rose by 3.8 per cent compared to the previous month.

Commitments for owner occupied housing finance also increased by 2.3 per cent in the same period to now be worth $41.4 billion.

Leading industry body Master Builders Australia (MBA) has welcomed news, stating that it is a positive sign for construction.

"The key finance indicator released today by the ABS shows that demand for new dwellings is showing early signs of a pick up in response to the interest rate cuts in November and
December last year," MBA chief economist Peter Jones said yesterday (February 13).

"Loans for construction of dwellings and purchase of new dwellings, combined, were up 2.1 per cent in December and there was an encouraging lift in investment-related construction loans."

Mr Jones also stated that while the two consecutive interest rate cuts announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia at the end of 2011, more needs to be done to boost confidence and assist recovery in the residential building sector.

The Master Builders Building Leadership Simulation Centre (BLSC) will follow in the footsteps of similar sites in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and provide those in the industry a new way to gain experience.

According to the executive director of the Victorian brand of Master Builders Association, Brian Welch, the centre is a major accomplishment for the capital city.

"Participants will practise communication and problem solving as they navigate two three-dimensional building sites projected on to a 15-metre-wide panoramic screen," he said told Fairfax Media today (February 13).

The BLSC will create an interactive learning environment through the use of 3D technology and replica site sheds and will the capacity to train thousands of workers every year.

The unique technology has been introduced to Australia by Michiel Schrijver, the owner and developer of the world’s first simulation training centre in the Netherlands.

"Simulation training develops the component of performance that cannot be addressed by policy, procedure and process. It targets behaviour, culture and communication," Mr Schrijver told new website ARNnet today.

Located on Brady Street in South Melbourne, the centre is due to open in July.

Coal seam gas producers Australia Pacific LNG has awarded Hutchies a contract $51.7 million contract to provide temporary buildings to its Condabri and Reedy Creek sites.

As part of the modular construction project, facilities such as mess halls, administration buildings, kitchens and a laundry will be built, along with 700 units to house the mining personnel.

Hutchies will also deliver civil site works, reverse osmosis water treatment plants, a sewerage-treatment plant and generator sets for power, providing 120 job opportunities for local workers.

"We already have approximately 20 employees working onsite at Condabri and this number will continue to increase over the next month," Hutchinson Builders' Toowoomba area manager Robert Weymouth said yesterday (February 9).

"Toowoomba has a large, stable workforce, and the city is becoming a significant supplier of labour and contractors to the Surat Basin."

The contract follows an $1.5 million expansion of the Hutchies modular production facility, increasing its production capacity to 2,000 accommodation units per year.

This is according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed that the number of dwellings approved in Queensland increased 1.4 per cent in December.

Meanwhile, data for the number of private sector houses rose by 3.1 per cent, with some of the projects potentially benefiting from sustainable design.

Deputy premier and treasurer Andrew Fraser explained that the state has seen its fourth month of growth, against a national backdrop of 24 months of decline in private sector approvals.

“With cuts to official interest rates, as well as the lowest standard stamp duty rates for all homes in the mainland states of Australia, there has never been a more attractive time to buy or build a new home," he commented.

Mr Fraser hailed the Queensland government's Building Boost initiative a success, which is a grant available to encourage people to buy or build a new home in the state.

The $10,000 of funding was first made available on August 1 2011 and will continue until April 30 2012.

So far the initiative has proved a success, the deputy premier said, and this is likely to continue over the coming weeks.