THE concept of a major population centre in the north-west may have the illusory quality of Dorothy’s fabled Emerald City, but the so-called Pilbara City is slowly moving beyond just a fantasy.
THE concept of a major population centre in the north-west may have the illusory quality of Dorothy’s fabled Emerald City, but the so-called Pilbara City is slowly moving beyond just a fantasy.
This week, Premier Colin Barnett reportedly made comments at the opening of the University of Western Australia’s regionally focused In the Zone conference that it would be unacceptable to leave the north-west empty of development.
It is understood that Mr Barnett and possibly Minister for Regional Development Brendon Grylls are set to make a significant announcement about development of the urban environment in the Pilbara, with Karratha tipped as the future hub for major growth.
Talked about for decades, the idea has gained more currency in recent times as the massive growth in operations in the Pilbara has failed to coincide with a comparable increase in population or services.
A population hub in the north to service the region is seen as a social dividend from the resources sector growth, which will also make it easier for mining and gas companies to attract skilled staff to their operations.
The idea of developing more liveable population centres in the north-west has the support of resources giants such as Rio Tinto, with its Australian chief Sam Walsh confirming at the UWA conference that the state government was set to make a significant announcement on the issue later this month.
Answering questions from the same audience, North West Shelf Australia LNG president Peter Cleary said his personal view was that a city of 50,000 at Karratha was needed to service the region, compared to the current population of 12,000 or so.
With this kind of backing, there is a growing belief that current circumstances may be the catalyst to dramatic change.
For instance, the state government has already appealed for its federal counterpart to pre-pay its share of infrastructure funding as part of its stimulus-spending package.
There are also the ongoing negotiations between the state, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton with regard to the miners’ attempt to merge their Pilbara operations. Mr Barnett is known to be holding out for a significant increase in royalty payments as a consequence, while the miners are thought to be demanding that more of such revenue be spent in the Pilbara.
Businessman and former public servant Ken Perry, currently managing director of listed company Brandrill, has gone as far as preparing a discussion paper on the subject of Pilbara City, calling for the planning of a city to be home for 1 million people.
While the prospect of such a large-scale project seems a long way off, tentative steps towards a more moderate development are taking place.
Government sources talk of high-rise developments, marinas and even private hospitals built and operated by oil and gas companies.
Even the bigger issues appear to be on the table.
This week, also at the same conference, CITIC Pacific deputy managing director Peter Lee said the 51 gigalitre desalination plant being built for his company’s massive magnetite iron ore project at Cape Preston would produce 25 per cent more water than initially required.
Mr Lee said he was open to discussing the use of that water at nearby Dampier and the Burrup Peninsula, which has limited natural supplies.
For his part, Mr Perry is upbeat about the noises coming from government.
“Barnett seems to be talking in the right direction,” he said.
“There are lots of planets lining up.
“There’s the BHP-Rio merger, the Chinese starting up, you have the royalties for regions, people are talking about a 20-year boom.
“It just needs something to kick it along. I don’t know what that spark will be, it might be an election or [Prime Minister Kevin] Rudd diverting attention from the east coast.
“We have created the hunger.”
