Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance ready to break ground in billion dollar plans for Whyalla
Whyalla could see the first steps in GFG Alliance’s plans to rejuvenate the region within months, with two major projects almost ready to break ground.
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Sanjeev Gupta is poised to pull the trigger on more than $1 billion worth of spending in Whyalla in the next six months, as the seeds of the town’s rejuvenation start to take root.
Mr Gupta’s company, GFG Alliance, expects to break ground on what it says is Australia’s largest solar facility at Cultana, worth about $500 million, in the first three months of 2020.
The company also hopes to secure the necessary approvals for its $600 million steel rolling mill by the end of March. Once the approvals are locked in, the construction of the mill will start, and tenders for construction contracts are expected to be announced.
Mr Gupta captured the nation’s attention a year ago, when his company and the Whyalla Council held a “Big Reveal” unveiling ambitious plans to upgrade the Whyalla steelworks, install large amounts of renewable power and battery storage, and assess the viability of building a massive, 10 million tonne steelworks.
Other third-party proposals, to build a $45 million hotel and $145 million horticulture project were also announced.
Speaking exclusively to The Advertiser this week, Mr Gupta, said there was “all this excitement” now that the plans were coming together.
“There’s been all this work over the last couple of years … seeing our two big projects actually under construction will make such a big difference.
“”Both Cultana and the mill should break ground in Q1 and between those two there’s over a billion dollars.’’
The 280MW solar farm, where a testbed of about 200 panels has already been installed, is now just waiting for connection agreements with Electranet and the Australian Energy Market Operator before construction can start.
Mr Gupta said there would be a strong bias across all projects towards employing local people and companies to do the work, with Cultana alone expected to generate 350 jobs during construction.
“The project is shovel ready. Everything is ready. We can start shipping over stuff and construction as soon as we get the connection,’’ he said.
Mr Gupta said tenders for the construction of the steel mill would likely start to flow in January.
“I’m still hoping to break ground also in Q1 but the first half of the year is absolutely the time frame.’’
Mr Gupta said it was a “key priority” that benefits flowed to the local community, and the company would work hard to ensure that happened.
“I will be making some other announcements on how we plan to build the long-term sustainable workforce here, some training schemes and so on.’’
Mr Gupta emphasised that the two major projects were “just the beginning” and “it’s a journey, and we want to get ourselves set up correctly’’.
The aspirational end point of this journey is what GFG has dubbed Greensteel – a process whereby the carbon-intensive process of steelmaking can be made carbon neutral, which GFG wants to achieve within 10 years.
Mr Gupta said steelmaking using hydrogen could be a “game changer” in this equation, and the company’s next-stage plans for pumped hydro power generated from disused mines around Whyalla would also contribute.
The company is also progressing its plan to build a large lithium ion battery near Port Augusta. Mr Gupta said the feasibility planning for the potential 10 million tonne plant would continue in concert with the energy plans, as one informed the other.
“We want to be carbon neutral in 10 years which is a massive challenge, we definitely see an opportunity for hydrogen in steel, and we’re working on a project in Europe. It’s all about energy.’’
GFG says it has already spent more than $200 million in the steel operations at Whyalla over the past two years, modernising the plant and making it more efficient.
Mr Gupta said the mining operations were profitable but the steel division was still on that journey.
Mr Gupta said it was hard to compare the mood in the city to when he first visited two and a half years ago.
This week he visited students presenting on the theme “Make Whyalla Great” as part of the GFG Foundation, and he said the community was embracing the rebirth of the town.
Whyalla mayor Clare McLaughlin said the council’s redevelopment of Bennett Oval and the new jetty which is under construction, as well as the State Government’s planned $100 million high school build, meant there was a momentum, and a mood of optimism in the city.
“I think these projects are creating a positive feeling in the town, people are excited,’’ she said.
Ms McLaughlin said the community feeling was that Whyalla was in good shape compared to “what might have been”.
“I think next year when the solar plant starts, and work on the rolling mill, that will really inject some further confidence into the community when they see these projects which GFG has been working on and planning for quite a while … it will be good when that actually starts.’’
