Forty water infrastructure schemes across all states and territories have received shares in $108 million in funding from the Australian Government, through the National Water Grid Connections pathway.
Up to $20 million has been made available for each state and territory to deliver projects to improve water security and reliability over the next two years, with a Federal Government contribution of up to $5 million per project.
The Federal Government established the National Water Grid Fund as a $3.5 billion rolling 10-year water infrastructure program to fund water infrastructure investments.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Barnaby Joyce said the funding pathway will support water infrastructure projects.
“The National Water Grid Connections is all about driving the construction of smaller-scale projects over the next two years to provide short term economic stimulus,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“The cumulative impact for the National Water Grid will be significant. Collectively, these projects are expected to support over 7,000 hectares of irrigable land and connect 400 new customers,” he added.
Examples of projects which will be funded through the pathway include new off-stream storage dams and water pipelines, plus the construction of recycled water irrigation systems.
Katherine Logistics and Agribusiness Hub Water Supply in Northern Territory has received $5 million, while Gun Point Peninsula, near Darwin has received $2.4 million for its Emerging Agribusiness Precinct.
Four new projects in Tasmania have also received $5 million each from the fund. These include the augmentation of the Greater Meander Irrigation Scheme, Shellfish Lease Water Quality Improvement Program to upgrade sewerage pump stations close to shellfish lease areas, an expansion of the Penna Recycled Water Scheme and the South Arm Recycled Water Pipeline, which is a reuse scheme to deliver irrigation water to the South Arm Peninsula.
Deputy Prime Minister Joyce said up to 1,175 jobs will be supported during construction of these projects, with over 2,550 ongoing and up to 500 more seasonal jobs set to be created nationally.
“The $3.5 billion National Water Grid Fund is paving the way to national water security, while promoting local economic activity and job creation along the way,” he said.
The National Water Grid Fund is administered through the National Partnership arrangement.
Related stories:
- Construction finished on $14.3M Yass to Murrumbateman water pipeline
- Major contractors compete to build new $576M Bridgewater Bridge
- METRONET East-Bayswater draft designs released