Authority nationalises ‘largest’ Qld project

A major development will proceed in North Queensland through state ownership.

The State Government recently confirmed it would nationalise CuString’s CopperString 2.0 High Voltage Transmission Line between Townsville and Mount Isa.

The project involves constructing:

• a 500 kilovolt (alternating current) double circuit transmission line, spanning 1100km between Woodstock and Chumvale.
• support towers made from either galvanised steel self-standing lattice or guyed galvanised steel lattice
• four new substations at Chumvale and Woodstock where the line will be connected to the national electricity grid
• two substation extensions
• at least four construction zones with a central camp, project office and temporary construction camps
• access tracks.

Powerlink Queensland will oversee early work before the end of 2023. Construction will begin in 2024 and end sometime in 2029.

The 6000 megawatt project originally would have cost $1.7 billion. However, the latest deal lifts capital expenditure by 194.1 per cent to $5B.

“Our Queensland SuperGrid, the nation’s largest, allows Queensland to produce, use and export the next era of high value extracted minerals – through the renewable energy that the world is craving, we will create literally tens of thousands of well paid jobs for generations to come,” State Energy, Renewables, Hydrogen, Public Works and Procurement Minister Mick de Brenni said in a public statement.

“[The project will create] more jobs than our state has ever seen in a new, decarbonised resources sector stretching from Townsville to Mount Isa – and they are starting right now with early works packages to be rolled out almost immediately.”

CPB Contractors and UGL previously won the early contractor involvement tender. This involves scoping, designing, site investigating and pricing work. The engineering, procurement and construction contract will also be finalised for substations and high voltage transmission lines, which will link Mount Isa’s electricity supply network to the National Electricity Market at Woodstock.

The project was initially promised to create 800 construction jobs plus a further 50 operational positions.

Jobs are widely expected to be advertised on both CIMIC’s and UGL’s careers website.

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