Balonne River
Financials
Australian irrigated agriculture relies upon a diverse and sophisticated network of assets to reliably deliver water when it is required. Asset upgrades may be needed for several reasons, including increases in demand, change in operating costs, end-of-life replacement or to meet new or changed operating conditions for environmental or social reasons. The Northern Basin Toolkit Scheme was funded by the Commonwealth Government to enhance environmental outcomes including improved fish passage, improved flow to wetlands and protection of environmental flows.
Balonne River Financials
Direct Client: Sunwater
Services Primary : Economic & Financial Analysis
Sector: Water
Background
Aalto were engaged by Sunwater to prepare a financial assessment of two water infrastructure projects under the scheme –the Lower Balonne River Bifurcation Weirs Upgrades and Fish Passage Installations at Beardmore Dam and Jack Taylor Weir.
Aalto’s Role
Both of these projects included a base case and a project case, however the fish passages installation project included financial analysis of two scenarios: a no “revenue scenario” with no impact on water prices for irrigators, and no revenue collected and a “revenue scenario”, where Operating and Maintenance (O&M) costs from the works would be covered through an uplift in water prices, which would be passed through to the irrigators under the scheme.
Both projects considered the financial cashflows/ viability of multiple project options and the funding scenarios for state funding versus revenue collection through increased water charges. Both reports were prepared in compliance with the Business Case Development Framework (BCDF) and Project Assessment Framework (PAF) requirements, as well as Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework.
Outcomes and Insights
The analysis provided our client, Sunwater, with a clear picture of the funding options for these Northern Basin Toolkit projects and a transparent measure of implications for irrigators and community.
It supported timely and accurate decision making regarding the potential financial burden that would be appropriate to pass on for these important environmental initiatives.