Project

Lower Fitzroy Infrastructure Project - Rookwood Weir

PROJECT STATUS
Operational
Lower Fitzroy Infrastructure Project - Rookwood Weir

The Lower Fitzroy River Infrastructure Project (LFRIP) involves the provision of new water storage infrastructure on the Fitzroy to meet future water demands and improve water security. The reference project for the business case involves construction of a new weir at Rookwood, capable of supplying 86,000 megalitres of water per annum.

The proposed Rookwood Weir site is located on the Fitzroy River, 66 kilometres south-west of Rockhampton. Other infrastructure required includes augmentation to and construction of access roads, low level bridges upstream at Riverslea and Foleyvale crossings and installation of culverts at Hanrahan Crossing downstream.

Key Dates

Jul 2018 Project Announcement
Oct 2019 EOIs Open
Sep 2020 Contract Award
Apr 2021 Construction Commencement
2023 Construction Completion

Funding contributions

User charges
Federal Government
Queensland Government

The Queensland and Australian Governments have each funded a total of $183.6 million ($367.2 million), with the remainder funded by Sunwater including $156.7 million in 2023−24.

Procurement

Successful Tenderer: Sunwater, GHD, McCosker Contracting, Lendlease Engineering/ACCIONA

PROJECT HISTORY

May 2016 The Federal Government provided $2 million to prepare a business case for the project.
Jan 2018 Building Queensland released the business case on behalf of SunWater and the Gladstone Area Water Board.
Feb 2018 The Queensland Government announced it would provide $176 million towards the project. This equated to half of the capital costs.
Apr 2018 The Federal Government confirmed it would provide $176 million of funding towards the project.
Jul 2018 The Queensland Government announced SunWater will develop and operate Rookwood Weir.
Apr 2019 The 2019-20 Federal Budget allocated $9.6 million over five years to establish the North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority. The Authority will support the development of water infrastructure, including Rookwood Weir.
Dec 2020 The first stage of the water sales process was completed with Rural Funds Management and Argyle Capital Partners as the successful tenderers.
Dec 2020 The 2020-21 Queensland Budget allocated $115 million towards the project in FY2020-21.
Mar 2021 The Queensland and Federal Governments each committed an additional $7.5 million to the project to raise the crest height by 700mm, increasing yield to 86,000 megalitres.
Apr 2021 In-river construction commenced, following completion of enabling works such as the recent completion of the workers’ accommodation camp.
May 2021 The 2021-22 Federal Budget confirmed the additional $7.5 million in funding announced in March 2021.
Jun 2023 The 2023-24 Queensland Budget revealed the project's total estimated cost increased from $367 million to $569 million.
Nov 2023 The Federal and Queensland Governments announced construction completion on the project. The first water from the project is expected to be available by early 2024.
Estimated Total Cost
(2023)
Sector
Water & Sewerage
Procurement approach
Alliance |
Location
Queensland | National |
Resources