Hells Gates Dam

Hells Gates Dam

Townsville Enterprise submitted the Hells Gates Dam detailed business case to the State and Federal Governments in May 2022.

Hells Gates Dam is more than just a dam for North Queensland. It is a transformational project for the region, that will create economic opportunity and prosperity for decades to come.

Once the Detailed Business Case is approved by the State and Federal Governments, work can begin on pre-construction tasks that will take the project to ‘shovel-ready’ status.

Among other items, pre-construction works include the generation of the necessary Environmental Impact Statement, Cultural Heritage works, continued stakeholder, community and government engagement activities, geotechnical studies and detailed design, engineering, and procurement plans.

Once this tranche of pre-construction works is completed, the construction project can begin which will ultimately deliver:

Up to 10,600 FTE construction jobs
$1.3b contribution to GRP during construction
Up to 3,300 FTE ongoing jobs
Facilitate up to 60,000ha of diversified, high-value irrigation product
Create $800m worth of direct agricultural outputs per year
Generate $6b increase in GRP from agriculture projects, positively impacting the entire supply chain from the farm gate to export terminals in Townsville, and beyond.

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Project History

In 2018, the $2.2M Hells Gates Dam Feasibility Study, managed by Townsville Enterprise with funding from the Federal Government’s National Water Infrastructure Development Fund, confirmed the viability of the $5.4 billion irrigated agricultural and power project on the upper Burdekin River.

The findings of the study identified Hells Gates Dam Irrigation Project has the potential to redefine Northern Queensland’s agriculture sector and underpin long-term export market growth and investment.

The Federal Government committed $54M towards Phase 1 of the Project which includes $30M for the first stage of Big Rocks Weir at Charters Towers. The final Business Case for Big Rocks Weir was delivered to the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority on 21 August 2020 and has had both State and Federal governments commit $60M for the construction of Big Rocks Weir.

The remaining $24M funded the Detailed Business Case of the Hells Gates Dam and Irrigation Scheme, including preliminary geotechnical and cultural heritage assessments, construction proposals, enhanced economic modelling works, environmental and social impact assessments and engineering investigations. The Detailed Business Case assesses and provides further investigative works into the findings of the feasibility study completed in 2018.

In March 2022, the Morrison Government announced $5.4bn in funding for the Hells Gates Dam project subject to a business case.

In May 2022, the Hells Gates Dam Detailed Business Case was submitted to the State and Federal Governments. The business case proved the Hells Gates Dam project would deliver jobs and generate economic benefits for generations.

The Albanese Government deferred the project for 12 months and after only six months, Hells Gates Dam was scrapped without any consultation with the project proponents or community and the funding removed was from the October 2022 Federal Budget.

**WARNING**

Visitor access to the Hells Gates Dam site is strictly prohibited. Approval is required through SMEC Head Contractor or Townsville Enterprise Limited. A minimum of 48 hours’ notice is required. To request approval for site access please email tel@tel.com.au

Access to Information Policy

Hells Gates Dam Detailed Business Case Submitted

The Hells Gates Dam Detailed Business Case was submitted to the State and Federal Governments in May 2022.

If you have any questions about the Hells Gates Dam Business Case please email your question through to hellsgate@tel.com.au.

READ THE BUSINESS CASE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Hells Gates Dam Business Case Update: March 2021

The Hells Gates Dam Business Case has made considerable progress since Townsville Enterprise Limited signed the Grant Deed with the State Government in late October 2019. The Business Case has been funded by the Federal Government through the North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority and is managed by the State Government though the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water.

December 2020 saw majority of field works accomplished these had taken place over a period of 6 months, covering roughly 250,000 hectares of land across the proposed project area. The project is now over the halfway mark with the geotechnical drilling now complete and is tracking on budget and on schedule for delivery of the final Business Case in April 2022.

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Hells Gates Dam and Big Rocks Weir: Milestone Timeline

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Hells Gates Dam Map

Hells Gates Dam Environs Mapping courtesy of North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority.

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Hells Gates Dam and Big Rocks Weir: Charters Towers City Hall Office

The Hells Gates Dam and Big Rocks Weir projects office located in Charters Towers City Hall has reopened. This enables for the public to access information and to direct queries regarding the Business Case for both Hells Gates Dam and Big Rocks Weir.

Office opening times: Tuesday and Thursday’s 9am – 11am

Hells Gates Dam Project Update: November 2020

Townsville Enterprise Limited is the Project Manager for the delivery of the Hells Gates Dam Business Case. This is a two- and half-year project, starting in October 2019 and scheduled for completion in April 2022. The Hells Gates Dam Business Case has been funded by the Commonwealth Government and managed by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy under a Grant Deed.

The project is currently on schedule with the delivery of Milestone 5. There are another 5 Milestones to be delivered between now and April 2022. Townsville Enterprise Limited has engaged SMEC to complete the engineering services, environment surveys and the writing of the business case. Townsville Enterprise Limited has also engaged KPMG to deliver the economic analysis of the project, including agronomy and cropping options.

A camp site has been established at Hells Gates which has enabled Cultural Heritage inspections and monitoring, Geotech drilling and EIS surveyors to access the site and complete investigative works in developing statistics and information for the Business Case. We take this opportunity to thank the traditional owners of the land of the site, the Gugu Badhun and Gudjala peoples for their assistance and support. We also thank the adjacent landowners for their ongoing commitment to the project.

The traditional owners are currently monitoring the disturbance works on the site. The geotechnical drilling rigs have completed their works on the three of the proposed weir sites and are now concentrating on the proposed dam site with samples being taken 80m below the Burdekin Riverbed.

This is a very exciting time for the project, with environment surveys, ecology surveys, aquatic surveys, flora and fauna surveys being conducted. Piece this together with the geotechnical drilling, and we begin to get a complete picture of the potential for a major piece of infrastructure. This is the first time that such a study has been implemented into the Hells Gates region.

Hells Gates Dam Site Visit: October 2020

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Final Big Rocks Weir Business Case

Townsville Enterprise Limited, with the assistance from two major consultants GHD and KPMG, have delivered the final Big Rocks Weir Business Case to the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority on 21 August 2020.

Funding of $60M has been committed from both State and Federal governments for the construction of Big Rocks Weir. Strong advocates and nominated proponent, Charters Towers Regional Council, will commence pre-construction activities including the final design and costings. This project will provide a new source of water security and reliability for the township of Charters Towers and will produce positive economic benefits through increased agriculture, for the Charters Towers region.

Big Rocks Weir Business Case Update: May 2020

The Big Rocks Weir Business Case has made substantial progress since Townsville Enterprise Limited signed the Grant Deed with the State Government in late October 2019, the Business Case has been funded by the Federal Government through the North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority.

This has been achieved with the assistance of our two major consultants, GHD and KPMG, and the community and stakeholders of the Charters Towers region. This newsletter is an update on the progress of the project since the public meeting was held on 12 February 2020 in Charters Towers. The Australian government has already committed $30 million towards construction of the weir should the final business case show it is viable.

VIEW THE FULL UPDATE HERE

Feasibility Study: Executive Summary

VIEW DOCUMENT HERE

Hells Gates Dam Feasibility Study Overview