WORK on the long-awaited $120 million natural gas pipeline from Dubbo to Tamworth will begin in Tamworth this month.
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"It's coming, it's definitely on the way and the first laying of the pipe will start in Wallamore Rd, Tamworth, within the next two or three weeks," David Adam, the managing director of Central Ranges Pipeline Pty Ltd said in Tamworth.
"Bluescope Steel has been making the steel strip for conversion into pipe by Queensland-based company Oorcon and tens of thousands of metres of the finished, coated product is now awaiting delivery to Tamworth," Mr Adam said.
The link-up of the Tamworth end to Dubbo is expected in January with the gas flowing almost immediately.
"We want to get over the Liverpool Ranges before summer because the north-west is geographically a summer rainfall region," Mr Adam said.
Seventeen of Tamworth's largest companies have given a commitment to the use of the natural gas which is sourced from South Australia's Cooper Basin and may later be partly sourced from the Narrabri gas fields.
Mr Adam said that while the 17 companies would be the first recipients, the pipeline would be expanded to cover other intending or potential industrial and commercial users.
It would take about two years for the entire industrial, commercial and residential areas of the city to be covered by the pipeline.
Work would also begin during that period on extending the pipeline via laterals (spur lines) to other nearby north-west communities, Gunnedah, Werris Creek, Quirindi and Coolah.
Other communities to benefit from the Dubbo-Tamworth laterals hook-up would be Dunedoo, Gulgong, Mudgee, Gilgandra and Coonabarabran.
Accompanying Mr Adam on his visit to Tamworth was Gary Green, who has been appointed manager of Central Ranges Pipeline's Tamworth office (temporarily in The Vault building in Peel St) and Ray Baker, national marketing manager for the Sydney-based combustion and energy systems company SAACKE Australia Pty Ltd.
SAACKE will be responsible for connecting the pipeline to the customer bases and converting equipment to natural gas.
Mr Adam said the 10-year project had been a "long time coming, but we all knew it would be a long haul ... these things take time".
The project was backed by four shareholders, three of whom were Colonial First State Super funds and another Queensland super fund managed by Colonial, which was a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank.