Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers unveils $25m export wharf design
SA-based publicly-listed Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers expects to invest $25 million on its proposed multi-user wharf to export timber off the island.
SA-based publicly-listed Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers expects to invest $25 million on its proposed multi-user wharf to export timber off the island.
The design of the facility at Smith Bay, on the north coast of KI, includes a sealed roadway on a rock-and-fill causeway, extending towards a large floating pontoon barge permanently moored in deep water and accessed by a link-span bridge.
The proposed multi-user, multi-cargo facility will cater for 30,000-tonne to 50,000-tonne cargo ships (Handymax and Panamax) and for cruise ships,” KIPT managing director John Sergeant said.
Mr Sergeant expected it would take months for the proposal to gain approvals with a number of environmental and wave monitoring studies being undertaken to study the feasibility of an export facility at Smith Bay.
“It’s early days but we expect it will be a 15 ships per annum operation,” he said.
The company, which has three employees and owns Tasmanian blue gum (eucalypts) plantations, does not export and is funding its operations through rights issues and sales of surplus assets.
It has standing timber assets of 1.3 million cubic metres — about 60 per cent softwood (pine) and 40 per cent hardwood (bluegum) — on the 7200 hectares of land it owns on KI but these are valued at zero dollars in the absence of a wharf.
“While the trees are still in the ground, we are export ready with a number of potential customers, especially in Japan.
“If we can set up this wharf, we could create an export industry that facilitates the export of the five million trees owned by multiple parties on the island, creating more than 100 local jobs,” Mr Sergeant said.
The group reported a $2.8m net loss after tax for the year to the end of June — significantly higher than the previous year’s $966,000 — and net cash outflows from operating activities of $713,000, which led auditor Grant Thornton to highlight the “existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the consolidated entity’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
Australia’s largest forest investment manager New Forests is also investigating a $25 million multi-user port development option at Ballast Head, near American River on KI.
The Ballast Head site was formerly used for shipping gypsum and before that for loading ballast on to sailing ships and was bought by New Forests from the receiver-manager of Gunns last year.
The Forest Investment Trust, managed by New Forests, owns 10,500 hectares of blue gum forests on the island, harvesting of which was expected to start in 2018.
It is also conducting a number of feasibility studies and has plans to provide an open-access freight hub which will make getting produce off the island for other industries as well.
valerina.changarathil@news.com.au