The Burdekin Falls Dam Raising project involves:
- raising the existing dam by two metres to increase the storage capacity by 590,000 megalitres to a total of 2,446,000 megalitres
- raising of the spillway, abutments and saddle dams, and
- adjusting the spillway apron and possible changes to the access road alignment.
Key Dates
| Jun 2020 | Project Announcement |
| 2025 | Expected Construction Commencement |
Funding contributions
| Queensland Government | |
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The Queensland Government has allocated $540 million in taxpayer funding to the project, but has indicated more funding will be required to complete the project. It is unclear how much funding Sunwater is contributing to the project costs. |
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Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Sunwater |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Jun 2020 | Sunwater submitted a Preliminary Business Case to Building Queensland for the Dam Raising and Improvement Projects. |
| Aug 2020 | The Queensland Government declared the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising Project a Coordinated Project and announced that a Detailed Business Case into both the Raising and Improvement Projects would be developed by Building Queensland and Sunwater. Sunwater also commenced the EIS process through the Queensland Coordinator-General. |
| Dec 2020 | The Queensland Government released the draft terms of reference for public comment, ahead of the Environmental Impact Statement preparation. Public comments closed 29 January 2021. |
| Dec 2020 | The 2020-21 Queensland Budget allocated $150 million to Sunwater and Seqwater for Dam Improvement Programs. Part of this funding will be allocated towards delivering the Detailed Business Case. |
| Dec 2022 | The Queensland Government announced that it endorses the raising of Burdekin Falls Dam by two meters. |
| Jun 2023 | The Queensland Minister for Resources stated the estimated total cost of the project was approximately $1 billion. |
| Apr 2024 | The Queensland Government announced that detailed planning was underway, drilling and survey works to prepare for design and procurement of the project. |
| Jun 2024 | The 2024-25 Queensland Budget indicated Sunwater has planned expenditure of $74 million in FY2024-25 to continue planning for the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising and Improvement. The Queensland Government has previously allocated $540 million in taxpayer funding for the project, which it has estimated will have an estimated total cost of approximately $1 billion. A total of $162 million is expected to be spent on planning and investigatory works for the project. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2023)
Sector
Water & Sewerage
Procurement approach
Traditional Procurement |
Location
Queensland |
Resources
