Local suppliers and contractors could play significant roles in the establishment of a $14 billion hydro mega project west of the Sunshine Coast.
Queensland Hydro on Thursday held an industry briefing at Golden Beach for the Borumba Pumped Hydro project, which is the biggest infrastructure program ever funded by the state government.
The project could be ready to power up to two million homes by the end of the decade, and is expected to provide about 2000 jobs at the peak of construction.
The Queensland Hydro team was at The Boathouse to provide a briefing and insights to industry about the early opportunities for local suppliers and contractors for the project.
There are nine work packages available to deliver in the first stage, including underground works, geotechnical, drilling, civil and construction, site services and temporary accommodation.
Almost 450 people viewed a briefing in Brisbane on Wednesday to hear directly from Queensland Hydro CEO Kieran Cusack.
Almost 300 people were registered for the event in Caloundra on Thursday, as well as at Gympie on Friday.
“Queensland Hydro wants our Borumba Pumped Hydro project to be a project of choice for Queensland businesses and workers,” Mr Cusack said via a media release.
“Transformation of our energy system is vital, and the project will help by providing secure and reliable energy when it’s needed most.
“These work packages mean benefits for both supply and employment opportunities for Queenslanders.”
The project is a 2000-megawatt pumped hydro energy storage facility at Lake Borumba, located near Imbil, 45 minutes south-west of Gympie.
Along with early packages, an environmental impact assessment process will start in the second half of 2023.
That process will investigate the project’s environmental, social and economic impacts and identify avoidance, mitigation and offset measures. The community will also have an opportunity to have their say.
Detailed site investigations and exploratory works are needed before construction can start. Queensland Hydro will progress geotechnical testing to enhance understanding of site conditions and undertake civil infrastructure upgrades around the site, including worker accommodation.
Caloundra Chamber of Commerce CEO Brady Sullivan said the project would create jobs and opportunities.
“These pumped hydro projects are really significant for the regions in Queensland and it’s great for businesses in regions, especially for those businesses with regional offices,” he said via the release.
“It means more jobs and more opportunities in regions around the Sunshine Coast.
“We’re here to connect some local businesses to the opportunities with Queensland Hydro – we also need to be better informed about opportunities and how we can direct our members into the projects.
“I definitely think we punch well above our weight here on the Sunshine Coast.
“We have small, medium and large businesses on the Coast and we’re very keen to see how they can become involved and for opportunities to grow their business and workforce.
“We know the project will require around 2000 workers at its peak and we know there’s competition for workers around Australia.
“What I’d say is we’ve had really significant job growth on the Sunshine Coast over the last 12-18 months.
“We’ve seen a lot of people come and want to live here so I think that’s a great insight into what the success can be in the future.”
The regional manager for professional services company GHD, Tehane Ridley, said there were opportunities for locals to get involved in an important project.
“For us on the Sunshine Coast, there’s the element of it being a local project where we’re a big local employer and we’re keen for any local opportunities which gives us an opportunity to bring more people into our business and to bring in more training opportunities,” she said.
“Also from the perspective of renewables – the transformation to clean energy is absolutely vital for us here in Queensland and these pumped hydro projects take us forward in leaps and bounds in achieving our decarbonisation targets not just for the state but also for the nation.”
Businesses looking to get involved in the project can register their interest by visiting Queensland Hydro.
