THE announcement of a $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility could potentially pave the way for the development of the Urannah Dam; a project which would create hundreds of jobs.These large concessional loans to build infrastructure was probably the most exciting thing to come out of this week’s Budget for those of us who live in the north.Urannah Dam is a prime project for funding because it would allow us to create hundreds of jobs during construction and possibly thousands indirectly as we expand the cropping industry.The project has been repeatedly identified as a high priority environmentally feasible catchment site.It would open up 30,000 hectares of new cropping land with the potential to generate more than $323 million over 25 years.Urannah would also meet the growing demand for water from new mine developments as it would be able to store 1.5 million ML, and that’s really just the beginning of the story.On Tuesday night the Treasurer announced the new $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility which would provide large concessional loans for the construction of ports, pipelines, electricity and water infrastructure.The objective of the loan facility is to increase private sector investment in infrastructure in northern Australia and applications will open on July 1.We will need the private sector and state governments to get involved to fund projects such as this, and this concessional loan facility will provide a great incentive for them to do so.Another project with possibilities is the Elliot Main Channel.This irrigation channel to supply water from the Burdekin River to the coastal areas near Bowen would provide more water security and boost horticultural potential.Projects such as Urannah Dam and Elliot Main Channel will help us open up the north and the flow-on effects in terms of jobs and opportunities would be immense.