Marinus Link confirms Gippsland construction is on schedule

MARINUS Link has moved to reassure the community that construction through South Gippsland remains on schedule despite a legal challenge in Tasmania targeting permits for part of the project.

“Construction activities remain on schedule,” Marinus Link Manager of Media and External Communications Justin White said.

“We have already commenced preparatory works at Sandy Point and Hazelwood and our Victorian approvals are in place.”

The clarification follows a Sentinel-Times report last week that raised questions about whether the legal challenge could throw the project’s broader timeline into doubt.

Mr White said the challenge does not impact planned works in Gippsland.

Preparatory works at Sandy Point began in February and include temporary fencing, soil testing and groundwater investigations.

The project involves laying high-voltage direct current cables under Bass Strait from Tasmania to Waratah Bay before running 90 kilometres underground through South Gippsland to Hazelwood in the Latrobe Valley.

The legal challenge centres on Burnie resident Carran Doolan, backed by a coalition of residents known as Tas Power Democracy, who has launched an appeal through the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking to overturn planning permits for two converter stations and a switching station at Heybridge near Burnie.

The appeal was lodged after Burnie City Council granted the Heybridge site a permit in December, which was the last permit required before construction could begin.

The appellants argue that permitting each part of the project separately prevented cumulative environmental and planning impact assessments and that no permit should have been granted before a proper assessment of site contamination.

Marinus Link has said it welcomes the appeal as part of a transparent process and does not anticipate significant schedule impacts.

The $5 billion Stage 1 project received its final investment decision in August last year and the Australian Energy Regulator approved cost recovery in February, allowing full construction to proceed.

TasVic Greenlink, a joint venture between DT Infrastructure and Samsung C&T Corporation, was awarded the $994 million lead construction contract in December covering converter stations at Heybridge and Hazelwood and 90 kilometres of land cable civil works across Gippsland.

At the South Gippsland Jobs Expo in Leongatha on March 19, Marinus Link told attendees major construction was expected to begin in the third quarter of this year with a project office planned for Peart Street by the end of April.

Last week’s article also referenced a leadership transition. Mr White said CEO Stephanie McGregor has been in the role since June last year.

For landholders along the cable corridor, the confirmation that works are proceeding provides some clarity around construction timelines.