Kieth Lamb
Kangaroo Island Plantation Timber has rejected claims that because of bushfires on the island it won’t need its proposed KI Seaport at Smith Bay for 20 years. Rather, KIPT managing director Keith Lamb said today that the need to press forward with the timber salvage operation reinforced the need for the seaport. Source: Timberbiz
Yumbah Aquaculture claimed on Tuesday that KIPT “has made it clear that KI won’t need a timber wharf for perhaps 20 years, and only then if its plantations are replanted”.
Yumbah Aquaculture, which claims to be the largest producer of Greenlip abalone in the world, is opposed to the construction of the seaport which would be built less than 200 metres from its Smith Bay operation.
But Mr Lamb said he did not know where Yumbah got its information from.
“We certainly never said that.
“In fact, we said quite the contrary,” he said. “We are well track and are only weeks away from completing the final documents.
“We have no reason to believe we won’t receive approval.
“That will set us up to go to the next stage.”
KIPT still needs secondary approvals to undertake including native title. In the meantime, the company was pressing ahead with all the planning work around procurement and construction so that once the secondary approval was granted work could commence.
Mr Lamb said that would probably be about 12 months away.
Yumbah said in its statement on Tuesday that it had cautiously lifted an investment freeze over its Kangaroo Island abalone farm, confident there is now no substance to the business case for a 650-metre timber export wharf less than 200 metres from its Smith Bay operation.
“Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers has made it clear that KI won’t need a timber wharf for perhaps 20 years, and only then if its plantations are replanted. So the risk that has paralysed our investment plans for Smith Bay has abated,” company director Anthony Hall said.
“Like all KI residents we mourn the damage and loss resulting from the fires. However, Yumbah cannot see how Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers can finance, build or operate its KI Seaport concept after the loss of its commercial plantations.
“Objectively, the claimed KI Seaport business case no longer stacks up,” Mr Hall said.
