City set to reap big rewards

IT’S the news we’ve all been waiting for.

Sun Metals Zinc Refinery will invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the Townsville economy with a massive expansion.

This pre- Christmas announcement should buoy locals and shows that the financial situation in North Queensland is absolutely about to turn around.

During the construction phase more than 800 direct and indirect jobs could be created and the refinery will likely hire an additional 100 employees once fully operational.

It could make Sun Metals Townsville’s biggest employer. But as well as the jobs created in construction and ongoing operations, the expansion is expected to increase economic activity at the Port of Townsville and for local suppliers and contractors.

Credit where credit is due, the announcement follows Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s trade mission to South Korea where she met with representatives of Korea Zinc Company, the parent business to Sun Metals.

The company did have some concerns over energy costs, port and road access.

It seems the Premier has skilfully negotiated those concerns allowing this massive project to proceed.

That’s exactly what we want to see from our governments.

We want them to move stifling red tape and show companies that Queensland, and in particular North Queensland, is open for business.

The Sun Metals expansion is just one in a raft of projects that will break ground in 2019 and beyond. This time last year, the Adani Carmichael mine was to be the region’s silver bullet.

The mine, albeit a scaled- down version, is also due to start any day now, and for that North Queenslanders can breathe a sigh of relief. But the best thing about this coming year is that all our eggs aren’t in one basket.

The pipeline of work is opening due to a number of projects and the city is poised to reap the rewards.