STATE government approval is now all that stands in the way of plans to build a $300 million grain refinery west of Tamworth, after environmental assessments proved favourable.
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If successful, the proposed facility could generate up to 500 jobs during its two-year construction and 75 full-time positions going forward.
The refinery, to be built on a 12-hectare site near the old Tamworth Regional Saleyards complex on Goddard Ln, will process up to 500,000 tonnes of mostly locally-sourced wheat and sorghum into a range of food ingredients, including bran, protein, human food and animal food as well as industrial products for domestic and international use.
Waste streams will not be squandered either, with plans to produce ethanol for the beverage and industrial markets.
Matthew Kelley, the chief executive officer of Primary Food Company, the developers behind the project, said it was “tremendous” to see the venture moving forward.
“The Environmental Impact Statement has been completed and the outcomes from that are very positive,” he said.
“Our consultants believe there’s nothing they can see that would prove problematic towards getting approval.”
A key driver behind the refinery is the increasing demand for food and food ingredients, which has caught the eye, and so far the support, of state and federal governments, Mr Kelley said.
“There’s a real focus on food security around the world and that’s what has really made the project so attractive,” the local businessman said.
“It’s such a good project; it’s all about regional development so hopefully it gets a good run through the government.”
Mr Kelley said the EIS would be submitted “in the next few weeks, all going well” and hoped, if approved, construction could begin in May or June next year.
Mayor Col Murray, who has been working closely with Primary Food Company since the project was first mooted more than two years ago, said the venture was a major coup for the city.
“It’s an absolutely enormous vote of confidence in the future of Tamworth to have this level of investment,” Cr Murray said.
“I think the project has been bubbling around in various forms for a number of years and I’m just over the moon it looks like getting closer to reality.
“Markets are very secure, the project is very secure, finance is secure, so I don’t believe there are any deal-breakers left, apart from the approval process.”
