Great Keppel Island gets $8.6 million boost for its future
The date and cost of a crucial piece of infrastructure needed to propel the future development of the beautiful Great Keppel Island, off the Central Qld coast, can be revealed.
Rockhampton
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The critical piece of infrastructure to propel the future development of Great Keppel Island is set to be completed in early 2026 at a cost of more than $8.5m.
Livingstone Shire Council has awarded the Pensar Construction Group the tender to design and construct the island’s much-needed sewage treatment plant – replacing the current stressed and outdated facility – for $8.66m after budgeting $10.1m towards the project.
Pensar Construction is also the firm that delivered the Sewerage Treatment Plant project within Shoalwater Bay training centre as part of the $1bn Australian Singapore Military Initiative.
The GKI tender pricing outlines an estimated spend of $1.6m – $1.8m of works to local contractors and suppliers with project completion by February 2026.
Mayor Adam Belot said it was a huge step forward for GKI as the council used State Government funding of $30m which had been reallocated towards the island’s infrastructure needs after a push to provide mainland power and water was abandoned due to excessive costs (towards $80m).
A council report said “catastrophic failure of the existing treatment plant would have serious consequences and impacts on current tourism operations and potential new development”.
“It (the treatment plant) is vital for the sustainability of this island and it’s vital for it to be able to move forward financially as a driver for future growth,” Cr Belot said.
Cr Belot said the GKI Hideaway’s proposed development of 24 new cabins on Putney Beach was a great project but an example of why the new treatment plant was critical.
“That’s a really positive investment into more accommodation (on GKI),” he said.
“The reality is if that plant is not up and running then council would struggle to approve any further development given the depleted system which is currently there (built in the 1970s).”
The final GKI (Woppa) Master Plan, released in April 2024 following extensive consultation and review, identified the immediate and future priorities necessary for the continuation of current tourism operations.
That includes concept designs for a new amenities building, accommodating toilets, lockers and change facilities and a multipurpose tenancy space that will assist arrivals to the island and could facilitate a variety of commercial uses.
“We have identified the arrivals’ plaza and toilet block to be next on the list and also a tender put out for the design of walking paths to Shelving Beach,” Cr Belot said.
“We won’t know how much the paths will cost until we get a detailed design.”
A dedicated room for emergency services (water police, ambulance etc) to use when needed and a rural fire shed are also high on the list of priorities.
Cr Belot said the sewerage treatment plant was a modular design which allowed it to be increased in size when future demand required.
The successful tenderer’s submission was the only submission received from the eight received that detailed a plan to “complete influent design envelope investigations” as part of the design process which was “critical to the tender requirements”.
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