Federal government doubles funding for Urannah Dam project to $22.65m

A major dam one and half times the size of Sydney Harbour that’s set to be built in North Queensland has received a multimillion-dollar funding injection from the federal government.

A MAJOR dam one and half times the size of Sydney Harbour that’s set to be built in North Queensland has received a multimillion-dollar funding injection from the federal government.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will on Friday announce federal funding pledged to the Urannah Dam project has been more than doubled to a total of $22.65m.

The 1.5 million megalitre dam on the Broken River is the centrepiece of a $2.9bn irrigation and hydro-electric power scheme which has the backing of both the state and federal governments.

The transformative project has already been deemed a co-ordinated project by the Queensland government, with the company behind the project — Bowen River Utilities — currently working on its draft environment impact statement.

The federal government had originally committed $10m to the project, but will today announce an injection of $12.65m to fully fund the project’s business case.

This will include planning and approvals work as well as geotechnical studies.

Dawson MP George Christensen, whose electorate the dam straddles, said the project would provide a “secure and affordable water supply for agriculture, mining, industrial and urban use”.

“This is a transformative project for the region which stands to open up 20,000 hectares of prime agricultural land and support more than 1,800 jobs,” he said.

Environmental groups have already vowed to fight against the project, saying the dam would destroy the natural habitat of a turtle first discovered by Steve Irwin and his father.

.