Gladstone State Development Area
July 31st, 2010
Gladstone has many unique attributes which have contributed to the attraction of major industrial developments with arguably one of the most valuable of these being the Gladstone State Development Area, which is the envy of many interstate delegations of government officials. The GSDA came about by visionaries who in the early 90’s could see the potential for the area to develop on the natural deep water harbour.
The Gladstone State Development Area (GSDA) is a significant industrial land bank located 15 kms to the north west of Gladstone. The purpose of the GSDA is to secure and protect a large area of suitable land with ready access to a deep water port for large scale industrial development over a 30 – 50 year timeframe. The GSDA currently totals approximately 28,000 hectares with 4592 ha set aside as Curtis Island Environmental Precinct.
Large-scale resource processing businesses currently located within the GSDA include the Rio Tinto Aluminum Yarwun Alumina Refinery which is the worlds first greenfield alumina refinery to be constructed since 1985 and Orica’s ammonium nitrate, sodium cyanide and chloralkali plant. Transpacific’s regional waste management facility is also located within the GSDA.
Other projects proposed for future development will significantly increase utilisation of available land within the five precincts of the GSDA, most notably within the Curtis Island Industry Precinct, with four proponents at various stages of development with potential LNG projects on Curtis Island. Boulder Steel Limited has selected a GSDA site for it’s blast furnace based steel plant and continues to progress its Environmental Impact Study and other requirements to achieve a Financial Investment Decision in 2011. Gladstone Pacific Nickel has obtained EIS approval for a processing plant on another GSDA site and is also aiming for a Financial Investment Decision next year.
Over the years there have been many delegations to Gladstone to investigate the area for potential projects. Gladstone SDA ranks as a world class location, but many factors come into play when choosing a location for major industrial projects .
The Queensland Government has undertaken extensive planning of infrastructure corridors for rail, road, gas , water pipelines and other critical components to support industrial development in the GSDA . This significant investment in the planning and design of infrastructure corridors is imperative for the attraction and retention of large scale industry and the continued success of the GSDA in achieving this goal.