THERE are 489 projects worth almost $40 billion in the pipeline across the Mackay Isaac Whitsunday region.

The number and cost of development projects is considered "a general barometer of the economic prosperity of the region".

Mackay has $1 billion in infrastructure projects planned and $2.7 billion in construction projects.

Isaac has more than $15 billion in mining projects, as well as almost $2 billion in utilities projects proposed.

Whitsunday has more than $6.7 billion in infrastructure projects planned and more than $8 billion in utilities.

The gross regional product for the region is $22.281 billion, from a population of 172,523 over 90,354sq km.

The Greater Whitsunday Alliance Regional Projects Development Register update, released today, highlights the project pipeline across the region.

Each project has a dollar figure, start and finish dates and a status of registered, firm, commenced, deferred or possible.

GW3 chief executive officer Kylie Porter said the data presented in the register demonstrated the region's economic strength and provided interested stakeholders with a better understanding of development activity within the region.

She said the total value of projects listed was up $9.3 billion from last year, with 38 more projects listed.

"The construction sector is continuing to show signs of ongoing growth with nearly $5.4 billion worth of projects planned across the three regions," she said.

"This is up from the $5 billion worth of projects sitting on the register at the same time last year."

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Ms Porter said the value of planned utilities projects across the region increased from $2 billion in 2019 to $10.5 billion in 2020, with the Whitsunday region accounting for $8 billion of this increase alone.

Regional Development Australia Mackay Isaac Whitsunday chairman Darryl Camilleri said the region's ability to understand and be aware of the breadth, and magnitude of construction and infrastructure projects within the private and public sectors was critical to understanding how the region was tracking economically.

He said the level of development projects in the region was a general barometer of the economic prosperity of the region while also highlighting key skills and development needs within the regional workforce.

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Greater Whitsunday Council of Mayors chairman Andrew Willcox said new projects and developments were essential to our continued growth and prosperity.

"With an increase in both the value and number of projects on the development register this year, the greater region is poised to continue in its position as a powerhouse of both the national and Queensland economies," he said.

"This continued interest will assist in ensuring our greater Whitsunday region emerges from the current economic setback due to COVID-19.

"The projects register shows we are in a strong position to innovate and grow future business opportunities for the regional communities of tomorrow."

The project uses the following category definitions:

• Infrastructure: permanent pieces of public infrastructure such as roads, rail and ports
• Mining: mining projects including construction and supply associated services
• Construction: construction of commercial and residential projects
• Utilities: waste, water and energy projects.

The Regional Projects Development Register is produced annually.

The data was sourced through Cordell Connect, a database for residential, commercial, industrial, community, engineering and mining projects.