But the government’s top Indigenous policy adviser Warren Mundine has welcomed the budget measure because it would help open up the region and offer significant employment opportunities for Indigenous people.

Australian Agricultural Company managing director Jason Strong, head of the nation’s biggest beef producer with 540,000 head of cattle in the Northern Territory and Queensland, said the money needed to be spent wisely.

‘‘Northern infrastructure is massively underdeveloped. There is a big opportunity in the north and one of the constraints is infrastructure. What is most important is that things aren’t done in isolation,’’ Mr Strong said.

‘‘We’ve built a plant [a $90 million abattoir near Darwin] but we’ve got supply and we already sell boxed beef so we have a market. It is part of a supply chain to export beef to the world.

‘‘I think northern development has to be along similar lines. There is no point in building new roads or new ports if there is no increased product.’’

State governments and businesses have asked the federal government for more details of the concessional loan scheme.

The $5 billion Northern Australia infrastructure facility was the centrepiece of infrastructure funding in this month’s federal budget.

It will offer loans totalling $5 billion to approved projects to build ports, electricity and water infrastructure.

Queensland Treasurer and Cairns-based MP Curtis Pitt said he supported the idea of more money for northern Australia, but he has written to his federal counterpart to seek the finer details of the policy.

Northern Territory Treasurer Dave Tollner said a gas pipeline to the eastern states, a rail line connecting Tennant Creek to Mount Isa and a second port were some projects which would be funded from the $5 billion.