Stokes, Forrest part ways on East Perth power station revamp

The East Perth power station revamp appears to have become collateral damage in the row between billionaires Andrew Forrest and Kerry Stokes, with Stokes’ Australian Capital Equity exiting the deal.

A spokesman for WA Lands Minister John Carey confirmed the billionaires’ joint venture that had exclusive rights over the project, known as Koomba Kalark, was no longer in the hot seat.

An artist’s impression of the East Perth power station redevelopment.

“The two commercial entities have made the decision not to proceed with the Koomba Kalark joint venture,” he said.

“DevelopmentWA will continue to work with remaining proponent through this process.”

Through Koomba Kalark, ACE and Forrest’s investment vehicle, Tattarang, were tipped to spearhead the redevelopment of the riverfront site since being named the preferred proponents almost three years ago.

The two parties had been due to sign off on the purchase of the 8.5-hectare site in less than three weeks to begin a $218 million refurbishment of the century-old power station and a mix of residential and commercial development.

But WAtoday now understands Tattarang’s property arm Fiveight intends to continue with the project solo after ACE walked out on the deal some months ago.

The state government was made aware of the joint venture split in mid-December.

Months of speculation the two were feuding was confirmed on Tuesday, when media reports emerged claiming Forrest had told Fortescue Metals Group staff negative press about the miner’s affairs in Stokes’ Seven West Media may have been driven by commercial interests.

Forrest said he believed it stemmed from the company’s June decision to partner with German equipment manufacturer Liebherr for the supply of hydrogen-powered haul trucks over Stokes-owned rival WesTrac.

The Fortescue boss doubled down during a media briefing on Wednesday, saying he had put his foot down with WesTrac after it claimed it would not be able to bring pollution-free trucks online for almost another decade.

He implied the stance did not align with the company’s commitment to decreasing emissions and branded the coverage that followed “salacious” and “inaccurate”.

It comes after The West Australian published several articles on issues involving the miner, including Fortescue’s WorkSafe charges, a recent staff exodus, and the viability of ambitious plans by its green energy arm.

The terms of the state government’s sale of the power station drew the ire of the opposition, which questioned why two billionaires should be handed prime river-front property for $1.

The value was based on the complexity of remediation at the site, which is home to extensive gas and electricity infrastructure.

Controversially, through successive budgets and mid-year budget reviews, the state government has tipped more money into the remediation of the site and development of the surrounding area.

So far, the government has committed to $112 million spending on the site in remediation works and for a new footbridge to connect East Perth train station to the site.

That figure has almost quadrupled since the project was first mooted in the 2019/20 budget.

Carey’s spokesman said the government was fully committed to the redevelopment of the site – pointing to the remediation works completed to date.

“[The state] has delivered several de-constraining works to prepare the site, including removal of gas infrastructure, contaminated subterranean coal handling structures and removal of asbestos from the power station itself,” he said.

The exclusivity period for the project ends on March 3.

The East Perth project is the second time in a year ACE has backed away from an old power station revamp after it pulled out of negotiations for the South Fremantle power station in September.

Australian Capital Equity and Tattarang declined to comment.

WA Planning Minister Rita Saffioti claimed she did not know anything about ACE’s exit when asked on Wednesday, while WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said the government had questions to answer about whether taxpayers should have been alerted at the time it pulled out.

On Thursday The West Australian editor Anthony DeCeglie said he stood by his paper’s reporting of Fortescue and challenged FMG and Forrest to reach out and point out the inaccuracies they referred to.

“It must be noted it came after our stories holding FMG to account when WorkSafe was forced to take the serious step of laying charges over one of WA’s biggest companies refusing to release documents relating to alleged sexual harassment at its sites,” he said.

“What Mr Forrest’s various comments did not include were any specifics. I stand by our reporting, by our journalists, by the stories we choose to pursue and how we do so.”

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