South West Development Commission

WATER CORPORATION
Southern Seawater Desalination Plant Expansion

Work has begun to double the capacity of the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (SSDP) to provide 100 billion litres of drinking water a year.The first stage of the new plant near Binningup has been built over the past two and half years at a cost of $955million. It has just started supplying water into the Integrated Water Supply System (IWSS). The  current expansion would start delivering water into the IWSS by December 2012 and will cost $450million.
Expenditure:  $450 million

WATER CORPORATION
Wellington Dam Improvement Project

As part of the Water Corporation's State-wide dam safety and maintenance program, important works are being undertaken at Wellington Dam to bring it into line with current engineering standards. Work began at the Dam in December 2009 and is expected to take up to two years to complete. The work involves installing a series of high-tensile steel cables vertically through the wall into the bedrock below to improve stability. It also involves constructing a trafficable maintenance bridge above the dam wall to provide access to the steel cables for maintenance and monitoring purposes. The storage capacity, height and basic design of the dam will remain essentially unchanged and overflows will continue to occur in wet years.
Expenditure: $45 million

MAIN ROADS
Bunbury Outer Ring Road

The Bunbury Outer Ring Road will form a major part of the future regional road network, providing a direct connection to the major roads radiating from Bunbury: the Perth-Bunbury Highway, South Western Highway (north), South Western Highway (south to Manjimup) and Bussell Highway. Stage 1 will link the Picton Boyanup Road and the South Western Highway (south). Construction is expected to be completed by April 2013.

MAIN ROADS
Bunbury Port Access Road - Stage 2

Construction of stage 1 of the new access road for the Port of Bunbury has been completed and stage 2 will commence soon. Stage 2 involves extending the Bunbury Port Access Road from the South Western Highway (north) to Stage 1 of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road.  Construction is expected to be completed by April 2013.

MAIN ROADS
Perth - Bunbury Highway

The new Perth-Bunbury Highway was officially opened on 20 September 2009. It completes the high standard inter-regional road link between Perth and the South West, bypassing the heavily populated areas in Mandurah and the Dawesville Peninsula. The 70 kilometres of new road extends the dual carriageway from Kwinana Freeway at Safety Bay Road, around the eastern side of the Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary joining the dual carriageway on the Old Coast Road near Lake Clifton, thereby improving access and travel times between Bunbury and Perth. The State Government awarded an alliance contract for design and construction of the new highway to the Southern Gateway Consortium, which included Leighton Contractors, WA Limestone and GHD Consulting who built the highway in partnership with Main Roads WA.
Expenditure:  $705 million.