The Premier, John Brumby, today announced the AquaSure consortium had been awarded the contract to build Australia’s biggest desalination plant, which will secure Victoria’s water supplies, deliver as many as 1700 direct new jobs and help ease tough water restrictions.
Mr Brumby said the Victorian Government selected AquaSure, consisting of Suez Environnement, Degremont, Thiess (a subsidiary of LEI) and Macquarie Capital Group (a subsidiary of MQG) to build the $3.5 billion desalination plant, with key features including a guarantee to deliver desalinated water by the end of 2011; value for money for water users; delivery of water to meet Victoria’s high water quality standards; flexibility to supply between 0 and 100 per cent of the plant’s capacity in block increments; proven and secure desalination technology; and security of finance for the project in a constrained global economy.
“I am delighted to announce today that AquaSure will build Australia’s biggest desalination plant near Wonthaggi,” Mr Brumby said. “This desalination plant will be operational from the end of 2011 and is critical to securing water supplies for Melbourne, Geelong and to wns in Western Port and South Gippsla nd. Our Government is committed to Victoria’s Desalination Project because we must deliver a solution that is not rainfall dependent in an era of climate change. Together with the Food Bowl Modernisation Project and Sugarloaf Pipeline, our new desalination plant will help ease water restrictions. I expect these projects will see our water storages begin to recover in 2012 and restrictions progressively eased. Mr Brumby said AquaSure had committed to additional features and projects, to ensure Victoria’s desalination plant was not only Australia’s biggest, but Australia’s most advanced, including secure underground power supply; commitment to renewable energy projects to offset the plant’s energy use; minimizing the impact on the local environment, including continued use of Williamson’s Beach and the best possible visual amenity at the plant site; and delivering benefits to the local community, such as a new broadband fiber optic cable and a secure local water supply.
Other local projects to be delivered with the desalination plant include a $12 million in road upgrades, many of which are underway and development of a housing strategy for workers coming to the region. Financial close on the contract will occur by 4 September. AquaSure will begin construction in October on the desalination project, which will include the plant at Wonthaggi, the 86-kilometre transfer pipeline to connect to Melbourne’s existing network, the underground power source and renewable energy projects.
