Is there a guacamole factory in Mackay's future?

'Suddenly there might be an ability to process avocados because there is such a big market here.'

Is there an avocado processing plant in Mackay's future? Picture: Mikayla Haupt

THE decades-long ambitious plan to open up 20,000 hectares of agricultural land and provide water security for 15 active mining project is top priority for George Christensen in tomorrow's Federal Budget.

The Dawson MP believes the flow-on effects from the Urannah dam project would be "enormous" for the whole region.

For more than 50 years, the Urannah dam project has been highlighted as a solution to drought proof the Mackay Whitsunday region and as a way to ignite new industries.

Bowen Collinsville Enterprise projects the Urannah Water Scheme - located 50km from Collinsville - would have a 1.5 million megalitre capacity, hydroelectricity generation and a master-planned irrigation scheme that would open up 20,000 hectares of land for agriculture.

The project is another way the region could diversify its industries - a key plank in the Daily Mercury's Our Future Mackay campaign - and therefore shore up jobs and the economy.

Read more on Our Future Mackay

The dam carries a $673 million price tag to build.

But Mr Christensen said a $10 million Federal Government funding commitment would get the dam to construction stage and allow the proponents to begin early works.

"They believe that $10 million investment by government - which would do all your environmental impact assessments, sort out some of the land issues and get it to construction - would unlock private capital that would see that dam go ahead," he said.

Proposed Urannah Dam SiteContributed

"It's something that's been talked about for about five decades or more and it's now on the cusp of becoming a reality.

"It's critical and it's transformational for the region. If we have a minor investment that unlocks hundreds of millions of private dollars, the on-flow benefits of that would be enormous.

"It would provide water security for 15 active mining projects, including mining projects in the Galilee projects, and 21 new projects.

"The beauty of this is its proximity to Collinsville and if there was to be a power station built at Collinsville (for which early-stage funding was announced this week), it would need water, so that's another potential customer.

Future Mackay dinkus. Picture: Contributed

"Obviously it'll underpin the mining sector, and that's important, but it'll also open this vast tract of agricultural land.

"If it's co-ordinated into a single product, or managed so that there are synergies between produce that's grown, that could lead to processing .

"So then you have a processing plant of a new product in the region.

"There's talk of trees - avocados, nuts, fruit. Let's say they are all grow avocados.

Avocado production lines just one of the options if the Uraannah Dam project went ahead. Picture: Mikayla Haupt

"Suddenly there might be an ability to process avocados because there is such a big market here.

"They could open up a guacamole factory.

"If you're growing a lot of strawberries, you can make jam and a lot of conserves, and you can have a factory that does that.

"If you're growing high-end produce, well maybe you'll just export it, but maybe there might be processing capabilities that open up. Even if it's just exported fruit, where will that be exported through? Port of Mackay I would hope.

"That would mean massive extra economic opportunity for the region. And also extra jobs which is what's important.

"If I said what's the one big hope from the budget, it's that there's funds going to be available that can finance this."

Mr Christensen said he did not expect there would be a line item in the budget that said "Urannah Dam" but he had expectations the money would be somewhere in the budget.

Originally published as Is there a guacamole factory in Mackay's future?