A PROPOSED accommodation village near the Mount Isa Airport will house more than 1000 people, but Mayor Tony McGrady would not confirm whether the project was intended for fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers.
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The 13.8 hectare Stockyard Village will contain 960 single-resident units, along with 40 townhouses made up of 20 two-bedroom residences and 20 three-bedroom residences.
The proposed development was in Killara Crescent, less than one kilometre from the Mount Isa Airport, and would incorporate a gym, a dining hall, a playground, landscaping and a pool, as well as the accommodation units.
Cr McGrady said the application for the project had been lodged to council by company ARG, and public comment was being sought before the development could be approved.
He said he wanted to make clear the council had not yet approved the decision but the notice was on the land.
"My understanding is that you can pull up and book in for a week if you would like to but these are the kinds of things that are outside of council control," he said.
"But I believe it will be serviced accommodation and how it is used will be up to the company.
"We ensure it meets the town planning criteria but it's not council's role to determine whether the proposal is economic."
State Member for Mount Isa Robbie Katter said there was no doubt the proposal was aimed at FIFO workers from both a political and real estate perspective.
"It couldn't be for anything else," he said.
"Developmentally I wouldn't be buying property out there for people to live in, no-one builds conventional residential blocks that far out of town, if you were going to do that you'd do it at Gliderport.
"I can only draw one conclusion (from the proposal) and that would be FIFO."
Mr Katter said the only possible positive to come from a FIFO village was an ease of congestion at the city's caravan parks, but that generally the proposal was not in the city's favour.
"It sounds like a complete contrast to how Mount Isa should be developed," he said.
"The mines will throw every argument in the book to keep FIFO.
"The reality is, the more permanent we make accommodation solutions for temporary workers, the more we encourage FIFO and diminish options for permanent residents," he said.
The project is open for comment until November 30.
