A key part of this commitment is the development of the Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre, which has been earmarked for the town of Katherine following the devastating 1998 and 2006 floods.

The Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre is a centre that has been planned to support and cater for the needs of the existing Katherine East neighbourhood and its associated suburban growth area, and will complement the current Town Centre.

Katherine East is located on land outside identified flood areas and has the greatest potential to support future population and lifestyle growth, as it contains the largest amount of consolidated developable land outside of flood zones.

KATHERINE EAST PLAN:

Central to this is the establishment of a full-line supermarket, which will provide Katherine with valued competition, the opportunity for a new shopping experience, and alternate access to essential services and supplies.

Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, Chief Executive, Andrew Kirkman said the Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre is being developed outside of the recognised flood zone in the fastest growing area of town, and will provide the people of Katherine East a contemporary shopping and services experience.

"The development supports the people in Katherine East and complements the existing commercial and residential areas within Katherine," said Mr Kirkman.

"We understand the current CBD is the beating heart of the Katherine, providing an exciting retail, entertainment and tourism hub for both residents and visitors, and the Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre development aims to add to the variety of Katherine's available retail and commercial experiences, dedicated to the expansion of the town."

Katherine Chamber of Commerce Regional Manager, Colin Abbott, said the Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre is a timely development creating private investment opportunities in Katherine as the government looks to build upon the region's economic potential.

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"The Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre will provide retail floor space, and will comfortably accommodate near-term demand without undermining the commercial viability of Katherine Town Centre, or a second future Katherine East Commercial Centre," said Mr Abbott.

Katherine business owner and former member of the Katherine Flood Mitigation Advisory Committee, Craig Lambert, welcomed the Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre, and said the development will provide capacity and investment in necessary infrastructure, to assist in the future growth of Katherine.

"The push for an alternate commercial area came as a result of work done by the Flood Mitigation Committee and the obvious conclusion that there was a real limit to the efficacy of flood mitigation work when it comes to the one in 50 and one in 100 floods," said Mr Lambert.

"One of the recommendations of the Committee was to consider the creation of some commercial land available out of the flood zone to provide infrastructure and facilities to the town that were not flood effected, and that could be used in a flood to enhance recovery efforts and provide continuity of services during flood emergency. Katherine East and the new neighbourhood centre provide this capacity.

This development provides additional social infrastructure for Katherine, and is available to the town in general while also providing more local social infrastructure support to enhance the lifestyle available to Katherine East residents directly."

The Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre is one part of a number of strategies the Territory Government is delivering to enhance Katherine's liveability.

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The Department released a tender in May 2021 to construct the flood mitigation embankment and wall levees in Katherine North, increasing Katherine's flood resilience, and improving flood protection in residential areas.

From the Northern Territory Government's perspective, Katherine is a critical and strategic regional centre which drives and supports vast agricultural, logistic, tourism and resource industries.

The Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre is part of a larger suite of significant investments the Northern Territory Government is delivering to bring together and realise the region's economic potential, while supporting the towns expected population growth. Robust future planning is important for the town of Katherine.

The Northern Territory Government is confident the Katherine East Neighbourhood Centre will deliver economic and social benefits for the people of Katherine.