Critical Queensland energy project price balloons again

A key energy project that will connect regional Queensland to the national power grid has suffered another cost blowout, ballooning to more than double the original estimate.

But the Queensland government remains committed to delivering the transmission line despite the toll on the bottom line.

CopperString, originally slated at $5 billion, will connect the state’s north-west to the grid through an 840km power line running from south of Townsville to Mount Isa.

The “true cost” of the power line from the coast to Mount Isa is now expected to be $13.9 billion.Credit: Paul Jones

The LNP government announced after the 2024 state election that the cost of CopperString had increased to $9 billion after receiving internal briefing documents.

But CopperString has again blown out, with the government now revealing the “true cost” will be $13.9 billion, following a closer examination of the project and consultation with the transmission operator Powerlink.

The increase is understood to be due to the project failing to include extensions to connect mining and renewable energy projects to the line.

Those connections are expected to cost an extra $4.9 billion, according to Powerlink.

Treasurer David Janetzki blamed the former Labor government for the cost blowout, vowing that his government would save the critical project.

“Labor had no credibility on CopperString after hiding their runaway costs and failing to scope connection to the very energy projects it was designed for,” he said on Tuesday.

“We remain fully committed to delivering this critical project for the North, and will save CopperString from Labor’s rushed decisions and poor planning that had put the entire project at risk.”

Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki.Credit: Jamila Filippone

CopperString will be longer than driving from Sydney to Melbourne with the project expected to be finished by 2029, ahead of the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

It will provide more affordable power to companies mining deposits valued at $500 billion in the North West Minerals Province.

The project will also help unlock the province’s copper, zinc, lead, silver and phosphate needed to make smartphones and renewable energy parts.

Janetzki will give a speech at Queensland Energy Club on Tuesday where he is expected to address the CopperString project and announce a review of the state’s emission reduction targets.

AAP