Project boss is not done yet

THE $650 million KUR-World ecoresort is dead.

The greenies of Kuranda will be celebrating but it’s not all over for project boss Ken Lee yet.

Basically the Department of Transport and Main Roads has killed the project because it says the extra volumes of traffic for the resort would put too much pressure on the Kuranda Range road which is already at capacity.

Environmentalists will be rubbing their hands with glee, but what it means is that hundreds of jobs in construction and operation have gone out the window.

It also means millions of dollars in goods and services have disappeared and another attraction for tourists seeking eco-experiences.

Dropping Chinese numbers may have played their part as well as the cut in direct flights to Cairns.

The project would have cleaned up a rundown 626ha cattle property which had been left in disrepair with ugly overgrowth.

KUR-Cow, a working cattle station with horse riding, a hayride and other experiences, is evidence of what Mr Lee has already done on the Barnwell Rd property.

As part of plan B, his company Reever and Ocean has been given Mareeba Shire Council approval to subdivide a chunk of the property into 46 rural-residential lots.

Furthermore the company has applied to the council for what appears to be a glamping venture.

Mr Lee loves the outdoors of the Far North and enjoys jumping on a horse and riding about his property, something he wants to share with Chinese and other Asian tourists who yearn for a clean environment.

It will be interesting to see other aspects of his plan B.

Nick Dalton

Deputy editor