It was a pleasure to join Steven Miles, Senators Jenny McAllister & Nita Green, Craig Crawford MP and my fellow Parliamentary colleagues at the Construction Launch Ceremony for Cairns Water Security Stage 1 Project.
As our city and our region grows we know that we need to continue to invest in infrastructure and this is what a Labor Government does.
The Cairns Water Security Stage 1 Project will strengthen Cairns’ future water supply and includes a new water intake at the Mulgrave River, a new water treatment plant and water reservoirs at Gordonvale and supporting infrastructure to connect the new intake to the existing water network.
Funding of $195 million from the Miles Government builds on existing State government investments in the Cairns’ water security including the upgrade to the Freshwater Creek Water Treatment Plant, which received more than $1 million through the Building our Regions Round 6 grant program.
In addition, flood protection works will be undertaken at council’s Behana Creek intake, improving the quality and resilience of that water source which is an essential measure to help with continuity of water supplies in times of flood. The existing treatment plant at Behana will be replaced by the new water treatment plant being built at Gordonvale.
Construction is commencing soon, and weather permitting, the project is expected to be complete in 2026. Construction is expected to support more-than 1,600 construction jobs.
