South Australian Government News

A private firm is looking to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to South Australia starting in 2020, around the same time as two other proposed import projects, looking to fill a supply gap as domestic gas gets sucked into LNG exports.Venice Energy, set up by former BHP Billiton executives, plans to submit a development application to the South Australian government within the next month to park a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Port Adelaide, Managing Director Kym Winter-Dewhirst said.If regulatory approvals come through by March, construction could begin by June 2019, he told Reuters in an interview. The project would be funded partly by Venice's owners…

Ferry operations are extremely complex with a combination of inputs that will all impact the ferry’s ability to deliver effective operational capability – the asset itself forms only a small part of a system for transporting people and vehicles between two points. All inputs to the ferry transportation system need to be considered to deliver the system’s capability and ensure the service is successful. Too much emphasis is often placed on the acquisition of a ferry, rather than on the remaining operational inputs, resulting in an ineffective, inefficient and unsuccessful operation.

BMT Design & Technology Pty Ltd (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, has completed a design project for the South Australian Government’s Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI). Working in partnership with the DPTI, BMT has developed a replacement design for ferries that operate on the River Murray, the third longest navigable river in the world, after the Amazon and Nile. The steel hull, built by local firm Bowhill Engineering, was fit out by the Departments Morgan dockyard.

The Australian Government has thrown domestic shipbuilders an A$89 billion (US$ 66 billion) lifeline. It plans to deliver a long-term plan for a strong and sustainable naval shipbuilding industry. Over the next 20 years the Government will invest the $89 billion in ships and submarines for the Navy. It's also still unclear whether local yards will benefit from a submarine program that accounts for a hefty chunk of the promised funding. This critical investment will generate significant economic growth and sustain several thousand Australian jobs over decades. It is a key part of our commitment to a safe and secure Australia. The Government will implement a continuous build of surface warships in Australia.

The South Australian Government has outlined three key points on shipbuilding it wants addressed by the Commonwealth's Defence White Paper next month. It wants (1) a minimum 70 per cent Australian worker participation in the building, similar to the Collins Class submarines, (2) a guarantee the future naval submarines and frigates will be built in Australia and (3) that the local industry will have a continuous building program. The Abbott Government has put the development of the next Australian submarine program through a competitive evaluation process. South Australia has demanded an overseas submarine building program be ruled out before the federal government releases its Defence white paper.

Dredging of the River Murray mouth has begun as the South Australian Government was granted funding from the Murray Darling Basin Authority to keep the channel open over summer. The State and Commonwealth Governments announced in December dredging would be undertaken to keep the mouth open. A dredge will pump more than 1,300 cubic meters of sand a day to nearby Sir Richard and Younghusband Peninsulas. SA River Murray Minister Ian Hunter said conditions of the mouth in the Coorong had "deteriorated significantly" over the last few months and there is no other go than dredging should begin soon. It’s important that the mouth remains open to allow the exchange of water between the Coorong and the Southern Ocean which helps to keep Coorong ecosystems healthy.

Australia is constructing three Air Warfare Destroyers (AWD) & Defence Ministry has been advised it best to allow more time between each keel-laying. Minister for Defence Stephen Smith, Minister for Finance and Deregulation Senator Penny Wong and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare attended the laying of the keel of the first Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) in Adelaide and provided an update on the $8 billion project. ASC in Adelaide is the principal shipbuilder in the project. BAE Systems in Melbourne, Forgacs in Newcastle and Navantia in Spain are also building modular blocks which will be brought together by ASC at the South Australian Government’s Common User Facility in Adelaide where the ships are being assembled.

The South Australian government expects strong bidder interest in its planned $120 million sale of the state's main ports, but the privatization is facing a political storm. The planned trade sale of the South Australian Ports Corporation has agitated a range of groups, from influential grain growers to the militant dockers union and farmers and tourism operators on the Kangaroo Island resort. The government has seen strong level of interest in the ports at Port Adelaide, Port Lincoln, Port Giles, Thevanard, Klein Point, Wallaroo, and Port Pirie. Hutchison Whampoa, Infrastructure investment group Infratil Australia Ltd., graingrower group South Australian Cooperative Bulk Handling (SACBH), P&O Ports, transport group Toll Holdings Ltd., and Mersey Docks & Harbor Co.

The South Australian Government has approved another $86m to expand the Osborne shipbuilding site in Adelaide. South Australian Premier Mike Rann met with the state's defense industry advisory board chairman, General Peter Cosgrove, on July 6 to brief him on the Techport Australia expansion. The Australian Broadcasting Company reports that the total development budget has reached $183m with another shipbuilding berth to be established at the site, along with more rail tracks. Techport Australia will eventually have the capacity to build the air warfare destroyers, as well as sections for the $1.5b amphibious ship program. (Source: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The South Australian Government has approved another $115m to expand the Osborne shipbuilding site in Adelaide. Reports said that the South Australian Premier Mike Rann met with the state's defense industry advisory board chairman, General Peter Cosgrove, to brief him on the Techport Australia expansion. It is said that the total development budget has reached $243m with another shipbuilding berth to be established at the site, along with more rail tracks. Government officials said that Techport Australia will eventually have the capacity to build the air warfare destroyers, as well as sections for the $2b amphibious ship program. Source: ABC Online