March 14, 2014
The restart of two units at Tarong Power Station will lead to 50 jobs being created at Meandu coal mine, Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce members heard on Wednesday night.
Dave Waddell, from Meandu Mine contractors Downer EDI Mining, told the 35 people attending the KCCI’s Meet & Greet at the Broadway Hotel that restarting the power station’s two mothballed units would require extra coal production.
As a result his company would be putting on extra staff to meet anticipated demand.
He said Downer EDI Mining had already filled its first intake of 12 new employees but there would be two further intakes as demand ramped up.
In total, the company expected to create 50 jobs at the mine when it was running at full capacity, and he also expected most of the positions would be filled by local residents.
He was unable to forecast exactly when this would occur because it was still unclear when the power station would be back to full capacity.
But he said when it happened, Downer EDI expected tonnages would return to figures very close to the record figures which existed when the units were mothballed in late 2012.
Across Country Motels managing director Seth Peady told the meeting that work on the D’Aguilar Highway block to the south of Kingaroy’s CBD had already begun.
While there were some last-minute alterations being made to his company’s original plans to fit in with budget constraints, he was hopeful the multi-million dollar project would proceed smoothly.
He said it was likely his new motel would take some weekday trade from the town’s existing motels when it first opened its doors, but his main aim was to attract weekend visitors.
He felt this was still a largely untapped market in the region, and if he succeeded this would ultimately be to the benefit of all existing accommodation operators.
“I was born in Nanango and went on to operate several restaurants in Brisbane,” he told guests.
“Because of this, I really think the South Burnett fits perfectly into the ‘Slow Food Trail’ and I think there’s a lot of potential to grow this market.”
As well, the company will be carrying out a mini overhaul of Tarong North in early May and a major overhaul of Unit 3 is planned from mid-August to mid-October.
These projects will inject several million dollars more into the region’s economy.
Stanwell will also continue its social investment program in the South Burnett, he said.
The company is also likely to bring forward some additional mining activities to meet future coal production forecasts.
He said upgrading and renovating the Broadway had taken three years and he expected the Club Hotel would require an even greater effort.
He also said that the Broadway was now being used by many groups to hold functions, and this has proven so successful the hotel now has function bookings for the next eight months.
The initiative – which the KCCI began last year – allows members to gather at a local hotel on the last Friday of each month for informal chats about local business issues, with the Chamber paying for the first round.
The next End Of Month Drinks session for KCCI members will be held at the Commercial Hotel on March 28 at 5:00pm.
The next KCCI Meet & Greet will be held on April 14 at the Kingaroy Showgrounds.
The Kingaroy Show Society will be the host and the meeting will start at 5:30pm.
