Australia’s NSW Wants to Dispose Three More Old Govt Buildings to Raise Funds

New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, wants to further dispose and liquidate three more old government buildings raise needed funds to inject into its coffers.

The buildings the NSW state government targets to put onto the sale block include the Lands and Education Buildings, as well as the Ausgrid building. The Lands and Education Buildings are both located on Bridge Street, while the Ausgrid building is on George Street.

A vacant land in Waterloo Road at Macquarie Parl was likewise included in the disposal list.

"The divestment of these assets reinforces the New South Wales Government's commitment to only owning strategic assets that support core government service provisions," Andrew Constance, acting minister for finance and services, said in an e-mailed statement.

Mr Constance said the state government had appointed Macquarie Capital, the investment banking arm of Macquarie Group, to market its portfolio of property assets.

"Preliminary due diligence is currently under way to assess all possible options that will optimise the value of the government. An an expression of interest is expected to be released to the market later this year," Mr Constance said.

But asked as to how much funds the state government expects from the sale, Mr Constance did not give any figure.

"There is no dollar value set," he said.

He expects at least though that heritage-listed Lands and Education Buildings will be sold rather higher than the others.

"The sandstone buildings in Bridge Street in particular have a potential for a range of uses, given their location within the CBD, and close to Circular Quay and transport services," Mr Constance said.

The Department of Lands building is a large three storey building built in the nineteenth century.

The Education Building, meantime, occupies an entire city block. Its four detailed sandstone walls were designed to dominate the precinct. The site is the longest official seat of the head office of the NSW government education administration. It has been occupied since 1881.

In early 2013, the NSW state government sold seven government office buildings to Cromwell Property Group for AU$405 million. Proceeds were used to accelerate the state's housing programs.