Council awards $325.5m contract for water project

Cairns Regional Council has awarded a $325.5 million design and construction contract to John Holland Queensland to advance a major water project. The Cairns Water Security Stage 1 Project is the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the council. It said the design and construct contract was the major component of the project’s total capital cost of $472 million. This includes costs already incurred or budgeted by the council, such as land acquisition and development of related business cases, and allowance for project risk contingencies. Mayor Terry James said awarding the contract paved the way for construction to commence in mid-2024. Cr James said the total capital cost was indicative of inflationary pressures caused by rising cost of living, skills shortages and scarcity of key materials; a situation impacting the delivery of infrastructure projects across the country. "We are certainly not alone. The cost of projects at both State and Federal level have increased substantially,” Cr James said. "The Australian Government’s own infrastructure pipeline has risen by $33 billion. “Cairns Water Security Stage 1 is a must for the Cairns community. Without it, we will face a potential drinking water shortage by 2026." Cr James said the CWSS1 project was needed to service the growing population of Cairns, which had more than tripled since the region’s main water supply, Copperlode Falls Dam, was built in 1976. “We are also facing unprecedented growth; our population is expected to grow by 62,000 by 2046. Without secure water we won’t be able to provide the homes, roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure that are needed for our community to grow and prosper,” he said. CWSS1 will draw water from the Mulgrave River at Gordonvale, and the existing Behana Creek supply, to be processed at a new water treatment plant before being delivered into the existing water reticulation network for supply to households and businesses throughout the region. The Federal and State Governments have already committed $107.5 million each to the project. Given the unprecedented flooding impacts of ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper, Cr James called on the Federal and State Government to provide Cairns with significant disaster relief by increasing their CWSS1 project contribution to $236 million each. “Due to recent events, our water and sewage infrastructure assets have sustained substantive damage, which is not claimable under disaster relief arrangements,” Cr James said. “We are asking both levels of government to commit to fully funding CWSS1, which will provide Cairns with significant disaster relief and allow council to focus its efforts on repairing and restoring those essential services impacted by this severe weather event." Cr James said that the recent disaster events also highlighted the need for another water treatment plant to build resilience in the community. “The intakes to the Freshwater Creek Water Treatment Plant were blocked by debris during the recent flooding, and at one stage some of our treated water reservoirs were at just 3 per cent capacity," he said. “This demonstrates the need for another treatment plant on the southside of the city, to help ensure that drinking water supplies are not compromised by severe weather events."

Council awards $325.5m contract for water project

Industry Queensland

Related News

Wind power plan for Dugald River zinc operations

Kumbarilla knocked back, Punchs Creek approved

Spotlight on underground emergency response

Get access to breaking mining news, now.