There will be a reduced bed count under the revised proposal.

Woodside Fifo camp approved

Tuesday, 20 November, 2018 - 15:47
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Woodside Petroleum has struck a revised deal with the City of Karratha to build a 604-bed workers camp, but the planning approval time-frame for the project remains uncertain.  

An amended proposal put forward by Woodside for the Bay Village development has been endorsed by the city’s council.

Under the new proposal, there will be a reduced bed count of 604 beds, instead of 700, while the use of the camp will be limited to Woodside employees and contractors.

There will be no bar facilities and sporting and recreation facilities have been downsized in an effort to encourage residents to integrate with the community through the use of existing facilities.

Other initiatives include higher quality urban design, the employment of village lifestyle coordinators who will work with the city to ensure a high level of integration between this facility and the Karratha community, and commitments around local contracting during construction and operations.

“This has been a long and challenging process for everyone involved, but it was absolutely necessary for the city to advocate the strongly held views of our community and seek a better outcome than what was originally proposed for this facility,” City of Karratha Mayor Peter Long said in a statement.

“The city has always supported the exciting growth opportunities that were being proposed by Woodside through the Scarborough and Browse projects, but wanted to make sure that the local community got significant benefits from these projects. 

“The city believes that the tough negotiations that have been held with Woodside and the state government on this issue has led to a significantly better outcome for all parties.

“The design and functionality of the facility has vastly improved from the original proposal.”

The endorsed proposal also includes a limited approval period of 10 years with the option of a five-year extension based on need, instead of 30 years as originally put forward.

“Woodside recognises council’s collaboration on Bay Village, which underpins North West Shelf and Pluto growth projects for the Burrup,” a Woodside spokesperson said.

“However, we still need confirmation that we have planning approval certainty for the full 15 years – this is critical to our long-term business planning.”

Woodside said it would continue parallel appeal processes with the State Administrative Tribunal until it had received planning approval certainty for 15 years.

In August last year, Woodside appointed a consortium led by Multiplex and Compass Group to build, own and operate the facility.

The contract is believed to be valued at more than $400 million over the 15-year term. 

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