The pace of activity in the first quarter of 2015 has been slow, but progress continues to be made.inFOLIO Research Group

This $140,000 consulting project with BMT WBM is proceeding on time with results expected by the end of June.

The resultant 3 D mathematical modelling tool will be a great asset to all Tamar Valley stakeholders, while for Tamar Lake Inc we have defined the following scenarios that will be run on the model.

We have had a number of queries from the community asking the question: “why should the State invest in a very expensive barrage when the raking program appears to have removed some of the silt deposits from the upper reaches of the Tamar?”

Answer: Apart from the demonstrated extensive economic benefits that will accrue to the State from this very large new freshwater asset, the raking program can only at best be a short term solution.

Tamar Lake is working with the federal Major Projects Approvals Agency, and the state Office of the Coordinator General in the development of a project plan and budget for carrying out the detailed planning for the Tamar Lake project. This is expected to get underway in the second half of the year, provided funding of $500K is made available from federal, state and/or private sources.

The Tamar Lake has received a tourism study proposal prepared by Sarah Lebski Associates with a budget of $65K, which would identify the potential new tourism activity stimulated by the project and quantify the economic benefit to the state over the 15 years post barrage construction.

KPMG has estimated that it would cost $20K for a desktop study to identify on a global basis new potential industry applications that could be attracted to set up in the Bell Bay industrial zone with the ready availability of large volumes of freshwater, plus existing natural gas and green electricity supplies, and access to the deep water port facilities.

In a bid to strengthen the business case for the Tamar Lake project, we would like to raise the $85K funds and commission these two studies.

These economic benefits would then be included as an addition to the KPMG economic impact study done last year to strengthen the business case.

Conclusion: It is time for the State to inject more seed funding into this project, and we are doing all we can to see it included in the 2015/16 budget tadalafil tablets.