The Queensland Government has granted conditional approval to QGC’s $A8 billion Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas (QCLNG) Project, to be located near Gladstone.
The approval comes with strict conditions, which includes the establishment of an Integrated Project Housing Strategy to provide additional affordable housing in the Gladstone area and measures to ensure as many local and Queensland suppliers are involved in the delivery of the project as possible.
If all the necessary approvals are granted and QGC confirm its final investment decision later this year, it is expected that construction will commence in 2011 with first shipment happening in 2014. The project is expected to generate more than $6 billion a year in exports, and employ up to 8,000 people during construction and 820 people during its operation.
Approval conditions will also see the establishment of Regional Community Consultative Committees in Gladstone and the gas fields to keep residents informed of the project’s progress and to address any concerns they may have.
The QCLNG project is the second on Curtis Island to have been declared under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act, following the approval of Santos’ GLNG Project.