![Proponents of Urannah Dam say they won't give up on the major North Queensland project. - Picture- artist's impression Proponents of Urannah Dam say they won't give up on the major North Queensland project. - Picture- artist's impression](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ya3tPqPRXYVuem2wchintR/16d3128c-118b-42c0-b93f-4bec335371e0.jpg/r0_7_3184_1797_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
PROPONENTS of Urannah Dam say they won't give up on the major North Queensland project despite its funding being cut in federal budget.
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Bowen River Utilities chief executive officer James Benjamin said before the project's capital funding was announced in the March 2021 Budget, a funding application with the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund had already been significantly progressed.
"We will now continue that process," he said.
Mr Benjamin said since the original NWIDF application there had also been significant progress on commercial and environmental approvals.
"It has put us in an ideal position to continue discussions with the new entity for funding water infrastructure projects," Mr Benjamin said.
Funding for the $483 million Urannah Dam and the $5.4 billion Hells Gates Dam projects was cut in Tuesday night's federal budget handed down by the Albanese Government.
However, a $600m allocation for the rebuild of the failed Paradise Dam, on the Burnett River west of Bundaberg, was delivered.
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The dam site is located in the upper Broken River Valley, south east of Collinsville.
The proposed dam is about 80 per cent of the capacity of the massive Burdekin Dam but only covers 20pc of the geographic area.
The proposal also includes a 22,500 hectare (55,600 acre) agricultural precinct, as well as water for mining projects and urban areas. Urannah Dam will also host a major, 1000 megawatt hydro-electric power station.
"We are obviously incredibly disappointed for the people of North Queensland and our thousands of supporters across Queensland," Mr Benjamin said.
"The capital funding announced by the former government allowed us to fast track the project with confidence.
"However, we will now have to revert back to our original timeline.
Mr Benjamin said the ongoing, six-year approval process has been long and complex.
"We've had productive discussions with the Albanese Government since the election and we understand the government needs to prioritise infrastructure projects that will commence construction before our proposed timeline," he said.
"Since our funding announcement in March 2021, the cost of building infrastructure has increased significantly and the competition in the supply chain is considerable.
"We don't need our funding in the coming financial year and our project will continue to attract investment from the private sector given our unique mix of food, water and energy our project delivers for North Queensland."
We don't need our funding in the coming financial year and our project will continue to attract investment from the private sector given our unique mix of food, water and energy our project delivers for North Queensland.
- James Benjamin, Bowen River Utilities
Mr Benjamin said Bowen River Utilities would be holding information sessions with the local community in coming weeks to reconfirm its commitment to building Urannah.
"We made a commitment to the locals that we would build this dam and that commitment stands."
Mackay Conservation Group said the Urannah project did not stack up economically or environmentally, claiming the dam and downstream irrigation area would impact 30 threatened species including a major population of the Irwin's Turtle.