October 1, 2024
The South Burnett Regional Council and three of the region’s key businesses are the big winners in a State Government funding announcement made on Monday, just hours ahead of the government going into caretaker mode.
A total of $24.5 million has been allocated to six South Burnett projects:
- South Burnett Regional Council: QCN Dark Fibre – to provide high speed connectivity to enhance economic, social and environmental liveability in the South Burnett – $6,800,000
- South Burnett Regional Council: Kingaroy Water For Growth – to increase water security for urban use and provide water security for agricultural irrigation through the construction of a new 150Ml storage – $7,084,590
- Parkside: Biofuel Briquette and Pellet Project – to convert sawmill and forest residue at Wondai into renewable biofuel – $3,018,808
- Plenty Foods: High Tech Conversion of Nut Waste – to construct and outfit a new industry 4.0 processing facility to produce enhanced protein and high palmitoleic oil – $2,781,192
- Swickers Kingaroy Bacon Factory: CO2 Generation from Boiler Flue Exhaust – to capture and re-purpose carbon dioxide produced on-site at Swickers Kingaroy site would result in a reduction in annual CO2 emissions of 1000 tonnes per annum. Design, procure and install required plant and equipment to enable the processing of the flue gas to extract, scrub, compress and store CO2 for use in the plant – $1,820,000
- Swickers Kingaroy Bacon Factory: Keratin Production from Pig Hair – to design, procure, install and commission a processing line utilising biocatalyst technology to produce concentrated liquid keratin from hair and hooves, reducing the need for landfill and generating a new export market – $3,000,000.
“These regions have a strong, vibrant future and the Miles Government is committed to supporting their transformation into world-class, low-carbon economies,” State Development Minister Grace Grace said.
“We’re determined to harness the benefits of new and emerging industries in our regions for the benefit of the entire State.
“We are investing in our regions to create sustainable jobs and stronger, more diverse economies based on locally identified strengths and priorities.
“We will continue to partner with local government, industry and the wider community in the regions to unlock the benefits of the decarbonising economy.”
A total of 21 projects across the State, totalling nearly $50 million, were announced on Monday.
