On a remote station 135 kilometres north of Alice Springs, the Anmatjere Man watches over an endless stretch of desert highway.

Erected two decades ago, the 17-metre Aboriginal warrior was built in a bid to attract tourists and bring prosperity to the region.

Today, behind the statue is the site of the Arafura Nolans project, a major project to develop a rare earths mine and processing facility, backed by $840 million in Commonwealth funding.

Successful major projects are the hallmark of a strong economy, but the NT Labor government has been under fire over its poor record in delivering them during its eight-year reign.

With the NT election just days away, both major parties say they can turn around the territory's stagnant economy and flatlining population. But whichever wins will have an unenviable task ahead.

Labor and the Country Liberal Party (CLP) have signalled their strong support for growing the territory's gas industry and are offering generous first home builder schemes to hold onto Territorians.

The Arafura Nolans project is still at least three years away from production and faces challenges ahead including raising more funding, jumping through regulatory hoops and staring down a volatile rare earths market.

But those managing the project are confident it will become a success story.

"It's a really good opportunity for Central Australia," Arafura's Northern Territory manager Stewart Forrest said.

"You're talking about the opportunity to create intergenerational wealth for both local Indigenous people and also for the local people in the region."

Powering ahead as economy goes backwards

As work continues on Aileron station, the latest Treasury data paints the future of the NT economy in a grim light.

Net debt is forecast to hit a record $10.8 billion this financial year and then rise to almost $12.3 billion in 2027-28.

The ballooning public sector of around 22,000 people is the government's single largest expenditure, coming in at 41 per cent of overall operating expenses.

There's also the issue of mining royalties, which are projected to fall $30 million next financial year and a further $65 million in 2027-28.

Meanwhile, the Northern Territory is losing more people to interstate migration than it's gaining, leaving the government unlikely to meet its population target of 300,000 people by 2030.

In a jurisdiction plagued by high levels of crime, instilling confidence in the economy and attracting workers has increasingly become an uphill battle.

The issue has dogged communities across the NT, where rates of assaults, property offences and domestic violence have steadily escalated over the past decade.

The town of Alice Springs, in particular, has become a poster child for dysfunction, with the NT government enforcing two snap curfews this year to try return some semblance of public order.

The impact of crime on territory businesses

A recent NT Property Council survey of more than 200 businesses revealed 70 per cent of business operators don't feel safe and three in every five are considering leaving the territory.

One of those operators increasingly concerned about safety is Alice Springs restaurateur Stephen Kim.

He and his wife Cynthia have poured everything into keeping the doors open, but their Gap Road business has been relentlessly targeted, forcing Mr Kim to board up every single window.

"I feel like I'm living in a prison," he said.

"[Visitors] just come to Alice Springs for two things: to go to the gas station … then to do a grocery shop, and then adios."

In late-2020 while working in the restaurant, the Korean national went to help a woman being attacked on the street when two male perpetrators turned on him.

He ended up in the ED for 72 hours and lives with the immense psychological and physical scars to this day.

He's trying to get on with life, but he's not sure how much longer he'll stay in Alice Springs.

'Drain on resources'

If the Northern Territory is to grow its economy and expand its industries, it's going to need more people to work in the jobs being created.

But Charles Darwin University political expert Nathan Franklin doesn't believe the problems facing the Northern Territory are likely to be overcome anytime soon.

"When you're spread across one-sixth of the landmass of the whole country, with a population of 250,000 demanding services and public utilities and all the other opportunities of every other Australian, there's a drain on resources."

With more than 700 sparsely populated remote communities and outstations dotted across 1.42 million square kilometres, meeting the needs of the region is an enduring struggle.

Dr Franklin described the territory's mounting debt as the "elephant in the room".

"Both sides don't want to scare the electorate about how you'd have to bring that [debt] under control," he said.

"That would require austerity. No one wants to lose services, no one wants to lose jobs – that loses you elections."

After years of boom and bust cycles in the NT, Arafura believes its mine and processing facility will help create a more sustainable economic future, with the promise of 650 construction jobs and up to 350 ongoing jobs for the region.

Mr Forrest believes it's a task worthy of pursuit.

"I think what's displayed is a challenge," he said.

"But when you get to know the Alice Springs community, and the people in the Alice Springs community … it's a great place to be.