Vital stormwater infrastructure is now in place to protect Toowoomba’s key economic hub with the opening of the more than $4 million Charlton North Detention Basin.
Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe officially opened the stormwater management and flood mitigation basin with Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio.
"While this region is in the grip of drought, we know that Mother Nature is unpredictable," Mr Hinchliffe said.
"That is why it is important that projects such as this stormwater detention basin are built and are in place for when disaster strikes.
"This detention basin will slow and capture floodwaters that would otherwise cut off the main road to the northern area of the Toowoomba Enterprise Hub, the economic powerhouse of the growing region.
"It had the added bonus of creating or supporting around 100 jobs during construction, with 10 to 20 workers on-site at any time.
"But this key logistics hub has been identified as having the potential to provide up to 12,000 jobs when fully developed and could increase Toowoomba Region’s Gross Regional Product by $2.1 billion, so it is important that this detention basin is in place to keep the road open, keep people in jobs and keep the economy moving."
Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Paul Antonio said the completion of the Charlton North Detention Basin was a major milestone in the development of the Toowoomba Enterprise Hub.
"Toowoomba region is becoming a key logistics hub and the expansion of the Toowoomba Enterprise Hub will drive economic growth and support job creation in our region," Cr Antonio said.
"The Charlton North Detention Basin project will complement the Nass Road upgrade project, which includes a road upgrade, drainage and water infrastructure that will service the Toowoomba Enterprise Hub.
"This project is a great example of all levels of government working together to keep Queenslanders safe during times of natural disaster."
The project included earthworks, upstream protection works and landscaping to flood-proof the northern area of the Hub.
The Toowoomba Enterprise Hub is an almost 2,000-hectare industrial zone, 13 kilometres west of Toowoomba and it is the largest zoned industrial area in Queensland west of the Great Dividing Range.
The project has been jointly funded by the Toowoomba Regional Council and a $2.78 million grant under the Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Resilience Program.
Federal Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Linda Reynolds said projects such as this aimed to reduce the community’s vulnerability to natural disasters and build community resilience.
"Queensland is one of the most disaster affected states in Australia and it’s important that communities can build resilience in ways that are most suited to their region," she said.
"This project is a great example of all levels of government working together to reduce the impacts of natural disasters on communities."
