Opportunity fires up
Large-scale infrastructure developments across the northern Darling Downs have positioned Dalby at the centre of one of the nation’s fastest growing regions.
With projects totalling more than $2 billion underway within the Dalby district, the town is already attracting major capital investment and is ripe for further business growth.
The bulk of that figure is invested in power projects that rely on the region’s rich gas and coal resources to feed new markets in gas and electricity.
By far the largest of these projects is the $1.2 billion Kogan Creek Power Project which includes the nearby Kogan Creek coal mine that fuels the plant. Wilkie Creek coal mine has also undergone a $30 million expansion to keep pace with global energy demands.
The gas-fired Braemar and Daandine power stations total a further $370 million, fed by local coal seam gas (CSG) supplies. The CSG industry is emerging as a key energy player with a $200 million gas mining project currently under construction.
Since water is produced as a by-product of this gas extraction, the industry has committed $1.3 million to Dalby Town Council’s $10 million Dalby Water Supply Redevelopment Project.
Dalby is also leading the way in delivering alternative energy sources with an $80 million grain ethanol plant due for construction this year.
The emergence of new industries is adding greater diversity to a region already well established as a major manufacturing and agricultural centre. And with valuable rail access to the Brisbane port, one locally-based cotton company has started construction on eight rail-linked agricultural storage sheds.
Dalby is also at the centre of an expanding feedlot industry with an additional $60 million feedlot scheduled for 2006.
Big business activity has prompted a $27.2 million upsurge in the redevelopment of Dalby’s entertainment, education and health infrastructure including a $20 million upgrade of the local hospital.
A multi-million dollar shopping complex is one of many new commercial buildings that are reshaping the town’s architectural landscape while the number of new homes under construction has more than tripled this financial year.
And with no sign of the development slowing down, there’s good reason to believe that Dalby will continue to deliver new business and lifestyle opportunities well into the future.
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