The Canberra Liberals would bulldoze the Kowen Forest to make way for housing and a new town centre as part of a plan for 125,000 new dwellings in Canberra by 2050.
The party has also promised to start a housing development in Symonston and to work with the federal government to develop the former CSIRO Ginninderra land.
But the Liberals say they will abandon plans to develop the western edge in Canberra and stop all investigative studies of the area.
Kowen is located in Canberra's far east and the pine plantation is located on the road to Bungendore and is about 4600 hectares. It has many trails and is often used by runners and mountain bikers.
The Liberals previously flagged the potential to examine options for development of Kowen in the last territory election but this is the first time the party has made a firm commitment to develop the plantation.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr ruled out developing the area in 2018. The government examined the development of the area 20 years ago but it was considered to be too expensive. But planning officials did tell a parliamentary inquiry in 2019 the area could be considered for development in a few years.
The Canberra Liberals' commitment for 125,000 new dwellings in the ACT by 2050 also includes a plan to allow separately titled dwellings on RZ1 blocks larger than 800 square metres.
The party would also auction all single residential blocks owned by the Suburban Land Agency and would set aside 10 per cent for first-home buyers offered at 75 per cent of market value.
The Liberals have promised to accelerate the release of land in suburbs under development, including at Macnamara, Whitlam and Kenny. They have also promised to accelerate planning.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee claimed the party's plan would add more than $900 million to the government's coffers.
"An accelerated release of land will help alleviate supply issues imposed by the Labor-Greens government, make housing more affordable and increase choice for the type of home Canberrans want to live in," she said.
"The measures announced today by the Canberra Liberals will commit 10 per cent of all new developments being reserved for social housing, will allow for a mix of standalone housing, apartments, townhouses, duplexes and terraces and offer real choice for all Canberrans.
"By meeting these targets more than $900 million in net revenue could be returned to the ACT government over the course of the term, excluding additional rates, land tax and lease variation take up."
But the party has ruled out developing the western edge, which is a 9800 hectare area the current government is investigating for development. This includes nine rural property leases bought by the ACT government between 2014 and 2017.
The now-defunct Land Development spent $43 million on the blocks covering 3378 hectares. The Auditor-General found many of the deals failed a number of the agency's tests for land acquisitions but public servants involved with the deal were cleared of corruption by the ACT Integrity Commission.
Canberra Liberals planning spokesman Peter Cain said the party wanted to strike the right balance between densifying city and town centres while preserving Canberra's bush capital characteristics.
"Canberrans want infill and renewal to occur in appropriate urban areas rather than despoiling the character of our quiet suburban streets," he said.
"We have a sensible plan to promote responsible urban renewal to address within RZ1 areas and established commercial centres, while simultaneously expediting residential land releases and instigating new urban development in appropriate areas."
But the Liberals say they would still conduct a feasibility study into developing west Tuggeranong. This area is located west of the Murrumbidgee River and former ACT senator and opposition leader Zed Seselja had strongly pushed for development there. The government has long ruled this out due to ecological reasons.
The ACT's planning system, released last year, is focused on building 100,000 new dwellings by 2050.
ACT Labor has previously promised to change Canberra's zoning laws to permit more missing middle housing, including duplexes, terraces and townhouses. The party wants to enable sites for 30,000 new homes by the end of 2030.
The ACT Greens want to upzone all land currently designed RZ1 - which is largely limited to detached housing - to the RZ2 standard, in an effort to encourage "missing middle" housing styles.
