The Northern Water Supply Project is a proposed desalination project that will supply water to the far north and Upper Spencer Gulf areas of South Australia. The proposed scope of the works includes:
- a seawater desalination plant (up to 260 Megalitres/day) in the Upper Spencer Gulf
- a 600-kilometre water pipeline to the far north of South Australia. The pipeline will link Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Woomera, Carapateena, Roxby Downs, Pimba, and Olympic Dam
- water storage and pumping stations, and
- other ancillary infrastructure.
The desalination plant is expected to be constructed in two stages, each with a capacity of around 130 ML per day. The plant will intake water from the Spencer Gulf and use reverse osmosis to desalinate the water.
Key Dates
| 2023 | Expected Funding Decision |
| Nov 2023 | ROIs Open |
| Dec 2023 | ROIs Close |
| Jun 2026 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
| SA Government | |
|
The project was allocated $78 million for FY2024-25 for its feasibility assessment, being jointly funded by the Federal and SA Governments and industry. |
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Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | South Australian Government |
| Procurement note: | Under the Design, Build, Operate, and Maintain contract, the successful party is expected to be awarded two separate contracts: a Design and Construct contract between 2025 to 2030 and an Operation and Maintenance Contract from 2028 to 2048. The contracts are being tendered concurrently and are to be submitted as a joint proposal. The successful bidding consortium will be required to consider both construction costs, and operations and maintenance costs. |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Mar 2022 | Environmental investigations began for site selection. |
| Nov 2023 | Infrastructure SA commenced a Registration of Interest process to design, build, operate and maintain the project, closing 11 December 2023. |
| Mar 2024 | The SA Government appointed GHD as Technical Advisor for the Project. |
| Jun 2024 | The 2024-25 SA Budget allocated $78 million for FY2024-25 for the project's feasibility assessment, being jointly funded by the Federal and SA Governments and industry. It also announced an estimated completion date of June 2026. |
