Up to 231,500 cubic metres of sediment will be dredged from the bottom of Snug Cove to make way for the new breakwater wharf to accommodate cruise ships.
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That amount of material would be enough to fill around 92 Olympic-size swimming pools.
The dredged material will be dumped in a previously used location approximately six nautical miles offshore from Twofold Bay. A sea dumping permit has been obtained, a requirement any time that disposal of dredged material is carried out in Commonwealth waters.
Tenders for the dredging work closed on February 13, with two companies submitting tenders – Hornsby-based Boskalis Australia, and Heron Constructions, of Port Melbourne.
Dredging will get underway once NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts gives the go-ahead. Key stakeholders hope that will be by mid-year.
Members of the Eden Breakwater Wharf Extension Project Community Liaison Group met on February 22 and were briefed on the project's progress.
“Once the dredging is complete, construction of the new wharf and the wave attenuator plus some repairs/upgrading of the existing wharves can commence, again hopefully later this year,” Port of Eden Marina secretary Rob Bain said this week.
Eden Business Chamber president Jenny Robb said the group was pleased to hear that “substantial progress on the project had been made, and that works were likely to commence in the second half of 2017”.
“The great news is that we are now looking at works being commenced this year, with the tenders for the dredging contract now closed and currently being assessed, and tenders for the marine structures contract due to be called in March 2017,” Ms Robb said.
Determination by the Department of Planning is expected to be granted in May this year, with the Environmental Protection Authority scheduled to sign off on the project in June, she said.
Ms Robb also welcomed the announcement Glenn Vardy has been appointed senior project engineer.
“Glenn is well known as a long term Eden local, with vast experience in works in and around Snug Cove over a number of years,” she said. “He has returned to the area after overseeing large projects in Port Hedland, in Western Australia.”
Under the NSW Procurement Board Direction for construction projects of more than $10million, the contract will provide the opportunity for apprentices and trainees to gain employment and skills in the construction industry.
The Aboriginal Participation Construction Policy will see a targeted two per cent of the total contract price spent on direct and indirect Aboriginal participation.
