Water licence gives $150m Barkly agri-farm green light

Fortune Agribusiness’s $150 million plans for a 3,500-hectare fruit and vegetable operation on Singleton Station have been given a huge boost with the NT Government granting a 30 year Groundwater Extraction Licence.

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Fortune Agribusiness’s $150 million plans for a 3,500-hectare fruit and vegetable operation on Singleton Station, about 380 km north of Alice Springs and 150 km south of Tennant Creek, have been given a huge boost with the NT Government granting a 30 year Groundwater Extraction Licence.

The NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security says if Fortune Agribusiness

achieve all the necessary legal requirements and meet its licence conditions, at full development 40,000 ML/yr of groundwater will be released in the following stages:

• Stage 1 – 12 788 ML/yr for a period of 2 years from the approval date

• Stage 2 – 22 845 ML/yr for a period of 2 years from the approval date

• Stage 3 – 31 779 ML/yr for a period of 2 years from the approval date

• Stage 4 – 40 000 ML/yr for a period of 2 years from the approval date

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Fortune chairman Peter Wood said if the water extraction licence was granted the company would launch an eight-year development plan to grow a range of crops.

He said the first year would be some fairly simple annual crops such as — we’ve got onions and rockmelons, even hay,” he said.

However its main focus is on some of the longer-term permanent tree crops, like citrus or grapes, which will take some years to get to maturity.

In addition to the staging conditions, the Northern Territory Controller of Water Resources, Jo Townsend, has applied conditions that require public reporting of the compliance with the licence and the application of any management actions.

The application was granted after rigorous modelling and data showed the licensed amount is sustainable and can be managed without adversely impacting other users, as well as environmental assets or cultural assets, if conditions are met.

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Ms Townsend warned that the release of water can and will be withheld should the proponent breach its licence conditions.

“The protection of environmental and cultural assets, along with the interests of existing users, are always the key priorities when assessing water licence applications,” Ms Townsend said.

“That’s why stringent conditions have been attached to this water licence, which will monitored closely by the Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security and publicly reported on.”

Originally published as Water licence gives $150m Barkly agri-farm green light