It's not the official groundbreaking yet but preliminary works are beginning on the site that will soon be occupied by the new North Queensland Stadium.

No heavy machinery yet but first workers arrived on the site of North Queensland Stadium. The industrial Monkey Island plot is now being assessed by surveyors Brazier Motti. Another company is already preparing the sheets which will cover fencing around the construction site.

While it's no milestone just yet, this marks the beginning of works on site. The 25,000-seater with 80% of fans covered will now go under construction, which at peak will become quite impressive in scale.

“We expect to see around 2000 people employed on site during construction and 80% of the project funding flow to local businesses under Watpac’s plans for local procurement,” said Angus Taylor, assistant minister for cities.

Watpac, the general contractor, is already dividing subcontracts among local and other companies to complete the team and begin construction by the end of winter (Australian winter, which is now). Official groundbreaking ceremony should take place in early September.

The $250-million venue (170 million is US$) is expected to be ready for use in 2020.