The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Water has appointed a market consultant to the Nimmie-Caira Project, who will source potential partners to develop the natural resource site from the open tender expression of interest process commencing shortly.
Palladium has been appointed as the consultant to help approach the market and gauge suitable candidates to take ownership of the site as both a natural resource and commercial opportunity.
“The $180 million Nimmie-Caira Project is a significant water saving project for NSW, and is a vital component of the Lowbidgee as the largest remaining area of wetlands in the Murrumbidgee Valley, ” DPI Water Project Leader Jack Chubb said.
“We are looking for some truly innovative ideas from the market to ensure commercial opportunities are realised at the same time as maintaining and enhancing the significant environmental and Aboriginal cultural heritage values of this property.
“An open tender expression of interest process is due to commence over the coming months which is a significant step in securing the long-term prosperity of the site,” Mr Chubb said.
Palladium will further develop a Land and Water Management Plan for the site, working with the market toward a partnership, to ensure innovative solutions to this divestment.
This process will result in the future land use model for the Nimmie-Caira property which needs to consider environmental, economic and social/cultural heritage aspects as well as Government requirements.
The Nimmie-Caira Project is a NSW Government water recovery project funded by the Australian Government. DPI Water is the lead agency responsible for delivering the project.
The project aims to protect and restore the environment, relaxing constraints to water delivery and helping bridge the gap to sustainable diversion limits in the Murrumbidgee Valley.
It covers an area of 84,417 hectares on the Lowbidgee floodplain, between Maude and Balranald in south-west New South Wales.
