Mr SETTER - 1996-10-17
Darwin residents would be well aware of the very large dredge that has been operating in Darwin Harbour for some months now. I understand that the dredge has been working on an area adjacent to the new wharf.
Mr Ah Kit: And the question is?
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! It is my understanding that questions should have short, sharp introductions and ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wanguri will please resume his seat.
A member: Sit down, Blenkinsop!
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member for Jingili to make his question as short as possible.
Mr SETTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Page 1724
The dredge has been working in the area adjacent to the new wharf to allow large shipping to move into that area of the harbour. I understand that it is the largest dredge that has operated in these waters. I believe that the dredge was loaded yesterday on to a ship which in itself would have been quite a spectacle ...
Mr Stirling: This is short, sharp and to the point?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Please ask your question.
Members interjecting.
Mr SETTER: I understand that that probably means that ...
A member: Would you mind ...
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr SPEAKER: The member for Nhulunbuy will please resume his seat. There is no point of order, but I ask the member for Jingili to ask the question.
Members interjecting.
Mr SETTER: I am coming to it, Mr Speaker.
The loading of the vessel means obviously that the contract has been completed. Is this the case, and can the minister provide some details of the contract?
Members interjecting.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his answer! The dredge, the HAN-218, is one of the world's largest. I believe it ranks about eighth largest.
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: It has just been loaded on to a submersible ship and it was a sight to behold. If honourable members had availed themselves of the opportunity to look out to the harbour, they would have seen the carrier ship being sunk to allow the dredge to float up on to it. It was an unusual sight. One wonders what would happen if the pumps on board the carrier ship were inadequate to pump the water out of it to enable it to be refloated. However, I imagine they have good backup.
This is probably the biggest dredge that will come to the Northern Territory for some time. It came from India to the Northern Territory and is being relocated now to Singapore. Honourable members will be interested to know that it shifted 700 000 m3 of silt, clay and rock from the bed of Darwin Harbour while dredging at the berthing pocket, a swing basin and approach channels to the berthing area at the new port. Some of the rock was among the
Page 1725
hardest ever dredged in the world. I am told the strength of much of the rock was twice that of the concrete slab of a floor of a house.
Mr Bailey: How much extra did it cost?
Mr COULTER: A considerable amount. The total cost was $14.8m.
The Chief Minister has shifted my tooth! Mr Speaker I would like to table one of the teeth from the dredge. This tooth still has green paint on it. It looks almost new, and that is because it was almost new before it broke off. It lasted 13 minutes before being totally destroyed as a result of the hardness of the rock. I have to be careful not to mislead the Assembly, but I understand that, on day one, the dredge went through 600 of these teeth. It was costing about a dollar a second, and the cost may have been a little higher during that time.
Mr Bailey: I thought it was all surveyed before the project began.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr COULTER: In fact, some of the rock was so hard that we decided not to touch it, and made alternative arrangements for the swing basin and approach channels.
The value of the dredging contract was $14.8m which included the mobilisation and demobilisation of the dredge. The HAN-218 contract brings the amount of material that has been dredged at the new port to about 1.1 million cubic metres.
I remind honourable members that stage 1 of the port is programmed for completion in December of 1997. That will be at a total cost of $80.3m. I am pleased to report that the project is on budget and, at this stage, ahead of time. Stage 1 provides for the construction of 490 m of land-backed wharf, 4 ha of hardstand area, a sealed access road, associated services and the dredging work that I have outlined. To enable the construction of about 4 km of earth causeway, bunds and embankments that have to be built as well, a further 6 ha of reclamation work is necessary for future port development. The major works have been undertaken in 5 large contracts, 2 in excess of $10m and one greater than $40m, and several smaller contracts under $1m. Expenditure to date is $50.6m. The new port development is taking shape rapidly now. The first consignment of sheet piling has arrived on site for the fabrication of individual sheet piles and that work has commenced.
I urge all honourable members who have not already taken the opportunity to inspect the new port site to do so at the earliest opportunity. If any member has not been there to have a look at what has been done, I invite them to contact my office and I will arrange a site inspection for them to be taken over the port to see the work that has been done. Members will be amazed. I congratulate all the engineers who have been involved on the project to date and who have kept it on time and on budget. It is truly one of the most magnificent infrastructure developments to have occurred in the Darwin region in recent years, particularly in the Darwin Harbour area. I urge all honourable members to inspect the site and gain an understanding of the wonderful infrastructure that is being built there. We wish all the workers
Page 1726
on the site - who are not enjoying the benefits of the airconditioned comfort that we enjoy - the very best of luck with this very exciting project.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr COULTER: Mr Speaker, I take this opportunity to wish the Leader of the Opposition happy birthday for yesterday.
Page 1727
Mr Ah Kit: And the question is?
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! It is my understanding that questions should have short, sharp introductions and ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wanguri will please resume his seat.
A member: Sit down, Blenkinsop!
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member for Jingili to make his question as short as possible.
Mr SETTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Page 1724
The dredge has been working in the area adjacent to the new wharf to allow large shipping to move into that area of the harbour. I understand that it is the largest dredge that has operated in these waters. I believe that the dredge was loaded yesterday on to a ship which in itself would have been quite a spectacle ...
Mr Stirling: This is short, sharp and to the point?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Please ask your question.
Members interjecting.
Mr SETTER: I understand that that probably means that ...
A member: Would you mind ...
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr SPEAKER: The member for Nhulunbuy will please resume his seat. There is no point of order, but I ask the member for Jingili to ask the question.
Members interjecting.
Mr SETTER: I am coming to it, Mr Speaker.
The loading of the vessel means obviously that the contract has been completed. Is this the case, and can the minister provide some details of the contract?
Members interjecting.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his answer! The dredge, the HAN-218, is one of the world's largest. I believe it ranks about eighth largest.
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: It has just been loaded on to a submersible ship and it was a sight to behold. If honourable members had availed themselves of the opportunity to look out to the harbour, they would have seen the carrier ship being sunk to allow the dredge to float up on to it. It was an unusual sight. One wonders what would happen if the pumps on board the carrier ship were inadequate to pump the water out of it to enable it to be refloated. However, I imagine they have good backup.
This is probably the biggest dredge that will come to the Northern Territory for some time. It came from India to the Northern Territory and is being relocated now to Singapore. Honourable members will be interested to know that it shifted 700 000 m3 of silt, clay and rock from the bed of Darwin Harbour while dredging at the berthing pocket, a swing basin and approach channels to the berthing area at the new port. Some of the rock was among the
Page 1725
hardest ever dredged in the world. I am told the strength of much of the rock was twice that of the concrete slab of a floor of a house.
Mr Bailey: How much extra did it cost?
Mr COULTER: A considerable amount. The total cost was $14.8m.
The Chief Minister has shifted my tooth! Mr Speaker I would like to table one of the teeth from the dredge. This tooth still has green paint on it. It looks almost new, and that is because it was almost new before it broke off. It lasted 13 minutes before being totally destroyed as a result of the hardness of the rock. I have to be careful not to mislead the Assembly, but I understand that, on day one, the dredge went through 600 of these teeth. It was costing about a dollar a second, and the cost may have been a little higher during that time.
Mr Bailey: I thought it was all surveyed before the project began.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr COULTER: In fact, some of the rock was so hard that we decided not to touch it, and made alternative arrangements for the swing basin and approach channels.
The value of the dredging contract was $14.8m which included the mobilisation and demobilisation of the dredge. The HAN-218 contract brings the amount of material that has been dredged at the new port to about 1.1 million cubic metres.
I remind honourable members that stage 1 of the port is programmed for completion in December of 1997. That will be at a total cost of $80.3m. I am pleased to report that the project is on budget and, at this stage, ahead of time. Stage 1 provides for the construction of 490 m of land-backed wharf, 4 ha of hardstand area, a sealed access road, associated services and the dredging work that I have outlined. To enable the construction of about 4 km of earth causeway, bunds and embankments that have to be built as well, a further 6 ha of reclamation work is necessary for future port development. The major works have been undertaken in 5 large contracts, 2 in excess of $10m and one greater than $40m, and several smaller contracts under $1m. Expenditure to date is $50.6m. The new port development is taking shape rapidly now. The first consignment of sheet piling has arrived on site for the fabrication of individual sheet piles and that work has commenced.
I urge all honourable members who have not already taken the opportunity to inspect the new port site to do so at the earliest opportunity. If any member has not been there to have a look at what has been done, I invite them to contact my office and I will arrange a site inspection for them to be taken over the port to see the work that has been done. Members will be amazed. I congratulate all the engineers who have been involved on the project to date and who have kept it on time and on budget. It is truly one of the most magnificent infrastructure developments to have occurred in the Darwin region in recent years, particularly in the Darwin Harbour area. I urge all honourable members to inspect the site and gain an understanding of the wonderful infrastructure that is being built there. We wish all the workers
Page 1726
on the site - who are not enjoying the benefits of the airconditioned comfort that we enjoy - the very best of luck with this very exciting project.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr COULTER: Mr Speaker, I take this opportunity to wish the Leader of the Opposition happy birthday for yesterday.
Page 1727
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016