October 23, 2026 — 2:48pm

South Bank’s lagoon will be replaced as part of a wider redevelopment of the parklands, but Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the Queensland government would not be taking any construction cues from US President Donald Trump.

Almost four decades after the site’s post-Expo ’88 revitalisation, Bleijie said developers would be able to pitch their ideas for the site – but the “key non-negotiables” would be a new lagoon and upgraded public space.

The existing lagoon often closes for months at a time and, at the peak of its leakage in 2024, lost 112,000 litres of water a day.

A concept design for a new South Bank lagoon, which would be completed before the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. Queensland Government

“We can’t just keep repairing the pool and maintaining it,” Bleijie said.

“We’ve got to get a new lagoon.…