• CPP will build 20km of transmission line, upgrade Calliope River Substation and oversee installation of a 500MVA transformer
  • The award follows a July contract for site preparation, moving the wider Gladstone reinforcement programme further into construction

The fact

Powerlink has awarded Consolidated Power Projects, or CPP, a major construction contract for the Calvale to Calliope River Transmission Line Reinforcement Project in Central Queensland. CPP will build 20km of transmission line between Calliope River Substation near Gladstone and the proposed Gladstone West Substation south of Mount Larcom. It will also upgrade Calliope River Substation and oversee installation of a 500MVA transformer.

The contract is the second major construction award for the project. In July, Powerlink appointed BMD Constructions to carry out initial clearing and access works. The wider reinforcement includes a new 87km double-circuit 275kV line between Calvale and Calliope River. Powerlink expects about 150 workers to be employed under CPP's package, with around 30% forecast to come from Central Queensland.

The assessment

Powerlink is moving from preparing the route to building the infrastructure itself. BMD is opening access along the corridor, while CPP will take on the 20km transmission line, the Calliope River substation upgrades and installation of the 500MVA transformer.

Those jobs need to come together before this part of the network can go live. Finishing the line will not be enough on its own; the substation work and transformer must also be completed, tested and commissioned. Powerlink has set broader dates for the Gladstone programme, but has not given a separate energisation date for CPP's section.

For BTW readers, the next signs of progress will be physical ones: towers being built, conductors installed, substation work completed and the transformer brought into service. Those milestones will show whether this part of the reinforcement is moving towards operation as planned.

What to watch

Watch for site mobilisation, tower erection, conductor stringing, delivery of the 500MVA transformer and completion of the Calliope River works. Powerlink is targeting March 2029 for the Calvale-to-Calliope line and mid-2029 for Gladstone West. Later updates should clarify how CPP's 20km section fits those schedules.