AFTER securing millions for its airport and heavy vehicle bypass in the last round of Royalties for the Regions, Cloncurry Shire Council is gearing up to deliver another submission to nab more funding for the growing shire.
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The council passed a motion on Wednesday to approve three more submissions to seal 34 kilometres of the Cloncurry-Duchess Road, construct a taxi rank and parking lot at the Cloncurry Airport and upgrade storm water management infrastructure.
Cloncurry Shire Council chief executive officer David Neeves said providing three different options for the state to consider worked for the council in round two and provided a greater opportunity to secure funding.
``They gave us money for the airport and the bypass and I think that had a lot to do with the way we presented it, the quality of the information, the research, the support from the community and the vision this council has of seeing the benefits long-term for the community, not just trying to rectify problems that the community perceives they
have at the moment,'' Mr Neeves said.
Mount Isa's second round Royalties for the Regions bid was quashed this year after Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure, Development and Planning Jeff Seeney said the money was awarded to regional towns that faced significant growth pressures.
Mr Neeves said addressing future growth by applying for something that would benefit the community in the long-term was Cloncurry's key to success and was reflected by its next priority submission.
The Cloncurry-Duchess Road re-sealing project went unfunded during the last round of Royalties for the Regions but will be in first place on the list for round three.
Mr Neeves valued the Cloncurry-Duchess re-seal at around $12 to $15 million, construction of the Cloncurry Airport taxi rank and parking lot at $1.5 million and storm water management upgrades at $75,000 to $100,000.
Fertisliser producer Incitec Pivot and copper concentrate supplier, Inova Resources Ivanhoe mine, are two large miners that use the Cloncurry-Duchess Road to transport goods to and from their operations.
Mr Neeves said while the re-sealing of the state-owned road wouldn't necessarily benefit the community of Cloncurry, it was a significant project that would allow industry growth in the region.
