DOUBTERS say the proposal for Mount Isa to be the link joining the Northern Territory to the East Coast gas market has been in the works for many decades.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Admittedly, the doubters have some legitimacy to their scepticism considering there has been little movement on the plan up until a few years ago.
But the level of interest from developers, the Northern Territory government and key stakeholders from Mount Isa and Tennant Creek, outline that there should be very few reservations about this project going ahead.
The strategic tenacity of key Tennant Creek stakeholders, who travelled to Mount Isa on Tuesday to discuss the project linking the Northern Territory to the East Coast, outlined no stone would be left unturned in their bid to secure the pipeline.
In comparison with the Alice Springs to Moomba alternative also mooted, there are so many positives pointing to Mount Isa and Tennant Creek securing the pipeline link.
Cost is the ultimate decision-maker in most projects of this stature – and the Mount Isa to Tennant Creek option will save about $400 million in an already tight economic market.
But there is also the ‘‘big picture’’ view of the benefits the route would have for Northern Australia.
It has already been granted Major Project Status by the Northern Territory government and is a development worthy of attracting ‘nation-building’ status.
The benefits are far-reaching, not only for Mount Isa, with the gas supply likely to open up much-needed cheaper energy for new and existing mines to operate more efficiently.
All the key indicators point to the doubters being silenced, with Mount Isa the front-runner for this important project of great significance for the region’s future.
– BRAD THOMPSON, editor
