$45.6 million for job-creating water infrastructure for Northern Adelaide

By: "Farm Tender" News
Dairy News
Aug 17, 2017
565 views
Share

More good news for SA

The Coalition Government is delivering funding of $45.6 million to get capital works underway on the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme.

This project will deliver more affordable and secure water supplies to farmers in the region, expanding irrigated agriculture and supporting high-tech greenhouse horticulture.

This is another demonstration of this Government getting on with the business of building the water infrastructure of the future, to support rural and regional growth and prosperity.

The Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme is expected to start delivering water to irrigators by early 2019.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce:

"This project is funded under the Coalition's $500 million National Water Infrastructure Development Fund (NWIDF), which funds water infrastructure projects to help rural and regional Australia reach its full productive and economic potential.

"This project is a real win for South Australia. It is expected to create more than 3700 new full-time jobs and generate more than half a billion dollars in economic activity.

"We're investing in the infrastructure of tomorrow so we can expand our production to meet global food demand that is set to rise by 75 per cent between 2007 and 2050. This project will be key to developing greater market access for South Australian producers to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Singapore.

"This project is a great example of the kind of infrastructure we are delivering across the country, to create jobs and stimulate economic growth for the benefit of all Australians, including in rural and regional communities."

Senator for South Australia and Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Anne Ruston:

"Having already delivered funding of $2.5 million for the feasibility study, I am pleased the Government is continuing our support into the construction stage of this valuable project."

"The Northern Adelaide Plains and adjacent Barossa Valley are premium horticultural and viticultural regions in South Australia. They have an abundance of suitable land for development, subject to water availability, and the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme will help unlock this potential.

"Once complete, the project will deliver up to 12 GL in additional recycled water supply each year, to support new irrigated agriculture and intensive high-tech greenhouse horticulture, creating new opportunities for farmers to capture the potential of higher-value crops."

Senator for South Australia and Minister for Education and Training, Simon Birmingham:

"This is a win for South Australia's farmers and all of the people who rely on the land for their livelihood."

"The SA Liberals have been lobbying our colleagues around the Cabinet table because we know how important this sort of irrigation infrastructure is to the farmers and businesses in Northern Adelaide.

"This project backs in the Coalition Government's commitment to South Australian agriculture and it will bring a much-needed boost of around 3700 jobs to the state.

"This is the sort of nation building infrastructure we're delivering for SA to secure a strong economic future for our state and our farmers.

"This project will involve the construction and operation of a new water treatment plant; 5 GL Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) bore field; a pump station; and almost 50 kilometres of pipeline including a distribution network to supply a new irrigation area north-west of the current horticulture precinct on the Northern Adelaide Plains."