The Northern Territory Government is investigating a potential infrastructure corridor from Tennant Creek to Darwin, which would allow for continued development of key regional areas.
The proposed corridor would provide pipelines for future services including gas, water, communications and other utilities.
A prefeasibility study has identified a preliminary corridor alignment, which takes into account engineering, environmental, social and infrastructure considerations, and will be further refined and developed during consultation with stakeholders.
Consultation will seek local landowners’ input about the proposed corridor alignment and to identify the constraints that need to be considered to plan for the project.
Northern Territory Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, Eva Lawler, said, “This is an early planning and investigation phase as part of a long-term project to support growth across multiple sectors in the Territory economy, including natural gas, hydrogen energy and digital infrastructure.
“The aim of consultation is to engage stakeholders in detail about the proposed corridor, environmental considerations and to better understand its potential impacts on land use.
“Designing multiple infrastructures within the same corridor will provide opportunities for the Territory’s hydrogen energy, oil and digital infrastructure industry participants to efficiently transport products to commercial markets. This is intended to reduce the impacts of having multiple corridors for the different services that will be needed.
“This proposal has the potential to not only link the regions with key infrastructure but also to provide long-term, sustainable jobs for regional Territorians.”
Following these initial consultations, the Northern Territory Government plans to hold public information events through drop-in sessions in Tennant Creek, Katherine, Adelaide River and Greater Darwin.
The Northern Territory Government is also working closely with the Aboriginal Area Protection Authority and Land Councils to understand the potential impacts of the project on Aboriginal sacred sites and Aboriginal land.
For more information, please visit dipl.nt.gov.au/projects/tennant-creek-to-darwin-corridor.
