Gina Rinehart has taken one more step towards purchasing the Great Keppel Island development project from Tower Holdings.

Hancock Prospecting has officially entered into an agreement to potentially acquire the Great Keppel Island development project from Tower Holdings. Read what it means for the project here.

Gina Rinehart has taken one more step towards purchasing the Great Keppel Island development project from Tower Holdings.

The Department of Resources has confirmed it has received applications from GKI Resort Pty Ltd (Tower Holdings) to transfer the Great Keppel Island tourism leases to GKI Investments Pty Ltd (Hancock Prospecting).

“The Queensland Government is committed to the responsible development of our island resorts for the jobs and business opportunities this creates in regional Queensland,” a Department of Resources spokesperson said.

“An independent financial and managerial capability assessment of the incoming purchaser is required as part of the transfer of the leases.

“The Queensland Government has committed $30 million for common-user infrastructure on Great Keppel Island to help support tourism.

A spokesperson from Hancock said: “As announced in November last year, Hancock Prospecting has entered into an agreement to potentially acquire the Great Keppel Island development project from Tower Holdings.

“The transaction is subject to conditions being satisfied, including suitable Commonwealth, state and local government approvals being provided that allow viable redevelopment of the Island.

“Hancock Prospecting’s work on these approvals is ongoing and Tower Holdings’ application to transfer the leases is part of Hancock Prospecting’s due diligence process”.

There is no confirmation of the price of the deal, but it is believed to be around $50m and will be for the 970.9ha of development approved land on the island.

Current development approvals for the island include a 250-room beach front hotel, 300 luxury apartments, 285 luxury villas, 9000sq m of retail shops and a 250-berth marina. The airstrip also has approval to be extended from the current 800m.

In November, Hancock Prospecting said the potential redevelopment of Great Keppel Island was an opportunity to make this one of the best resorts in Australia, with its special location and white sandy beaches.

“We hope to be able to make it better than it has ever been, with a world class year round beach club, sandy bars, shopping and more experiences circling around a marina modelled after successful marinas like Puerto Banus,” the company said.

“We envision a year round swimmable beach club and an underwater bar being able to bring the benefits of overseas tourism to Australia.”