Whyalla | Developments & News

[Nort]

That's really cool.

Imagine something like that at Glenelg, with the inside of the circle a space that has slides and other water amusements.

[Patrick_27]

That's really cool.

Imagine something like that at Glenelg, with the inside of the circle a space that has slides and other water amusements.

Begs the question why the Holfast Bay council haven't decided on something like this. I know the state government have been touting a massive overhaul of the Glenelg jetty, but I'm of the opinion that jetties with buildings and the like at the end are a thing of the past. They were decided against 70+ years ago because rough seas could bring the whole thing down. Glenelg jetty is among the worst of the metropolitan jetties and yet it's located one of Adelaide's main tourism hotspots.

[how good is he]

There was a big $90m proposal for a new jetty including hotel etc etc and Marshall went into the last election promising the first $20m. I think it was conditional on a business plan and private companies, council etc paying for the rest of it.

[Will]

From the Whyalla News

Sounds promising.

Foreshore the home for $100m, nine-storey hotel

Louis Mayfield
Local News


It's "Where the Outback meets the Sea" all over again.

That is how Thrive Construct Chief Executive Barrie Harrop described his vision for a new $100 million, nine-storey hotel coming to the Whyalla Foreshore.

The resort will create 400 long-term jobs and include features such as Australia's largest blue water lagoon, multiple restaurants, and seaplane flights around the Upper Spencer Gulf.

A mainstay in Whyalla's hospitality industry since 1985, the Foreshore Motor-Inn will be bulldozed to make way for the building, with construction set to begin early in the New Year.


The resort will include in the vicinity of 170-180 rooms with 45 apartments that will be available for purchase, and a penthouse situated in the top two levels.

Mr Harrop said one of the biggest draws to bring a hotel of this size to Whyalla was the Great Australian Cuttlefish, which he views as an attraction worthy of a heritage listing.

"The single biggest occupancy factor is the cuttlefish," he said.

"As a hotelier your two-to-three month low period knocks out your occupancy for the whole year, but Whyalla is a unique situation because the cuttlefish are the biggest attraction in Australia in the winter.

"Whyalla is not even on the map for a lot of scuba divers...imagine if we had 500 divers coming on the bus to see the cuttlefish and staying at the resort here.

"The place could be booked out for the whole of the low period."

The lagoon will be suitable for scuba-diving or snorkelling training, while the seaplanes will make the resort a 'launching pad' for regional SA.

"We see an opportunity here to embrace the local community of Whyalla and the region, everyone forgets that Whyalla is a significant regional centre and there's a lot of activity just within the region," he said.

The resort stands as the single biggest tourism investment in Whyalla, and Foreshore Motor-Inn Owner and Tourism Focus Group Chair Barbara Derham is excited about the future - if a little sad to see her hotel go.

"If this all goes ahead, what a fantastic asset it will be for the city," she said.

"Of course I am a bit sad, this hotel has been my life since 1985 - so when the bulldozers come I'm not sure if I'll stay and watch or run away in tears.

"But it is a really exciting time for Whyalla."

Ms Derham said the hotel would also be a fantastic employment opportunity for Whyalla's young people, offering them a chance to start a career path in hospitality.

"Everything from chefs to gardeners, front-of-house to management, there will be massive pathways the town's youth," she said.

[Will]

There was an article in the Advertiser yesterday behind a paywall regarding a 9 level hotel planned for Whyalla. If anyone with access could post it, that would be greatly appreciated.

[Will]

There was an article in the Advertiser yesterday behind a paywall regarding a 9 level hotel planned for Whyalla. If anyone with access could post it, that would be greatly appreciated.

[wilkiebarkid]

There was an article in the Advertiser yesterday behind a paywall regarding a 9 level hotel planned for Whyalla. If anyone with access could post it, that would be greatly appreciated.

[Ho Really]

wilkiebarkid, here's the article.

$100m Whyalla hotel to create 300 jobs, Thrive Construct says, with plans to be lodged early in the new year

Plans for a nine-storey complex on the Whyalla foreshore are expected to be lodged early in the new year. See the artist’s impressions.
Michelle EtheridgeRegional Editor
November 30, 2020 - 8:46PM
The Advertiser

The proponents of a $100m nine-storey hotel on the Whyalla waterfront hope to secure planning approval early in the new year to capitalise on more people exploring the regions.

Thrive Construct’s co-directors Barrie Harrop and Peter Villis are behind the development on the Whyalla Foreshore Motor Inn site.

Mr Harrop said about 15 buyers were “progressively paying deposits” on homes to be built in the complex, which will feature about 180 hotel suites and 49 apartments.

He expects the plans to be submitted to the State Planning Commission for consideration early in the new year, with construction starting around mid-2021 and taking less than a year.

“We know that if we get our timing right … we’ll be booked out for the foreseeable future,” Mr Harrop said.

“We’ve got 10 million Australians that went overseas every year and they’re not going overseas in the foreseeable future. There’s been a very strong focus on regional parts of Australia.”
The project is also expected to include food and beverage outlets, conference facilities and a large saltwater lagoon.

Mr Harrop said it would create about 300 full-time jobs on completion.

“Our planned project will sit “cheek by jowl” with a 100-year-old botanical gardens on the seafront, overlooking the stunning new Whyalla jetty,” he said.

“A lot of people don’t realise that accommodation in Whyalla is hard to come by most of the year.

“It’s the launch pad for an outback experience so from a tourism perspective it’s very attractive, but there’s nowhere for people to stay.”

UK industrialist Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance is planning a major rejuvenation of the Whyalla steelworks, costing more than $1bn.

“If you look beyond GFG’s plans there's several billion dollars worth of renewable energy projects in that area,” Mr Harrop said. “That’s created a lot of confidence and the $100m high school is completely out of left field and will be an amazing educational facility for the area.”

The Advertiser

Cheers

[Nort]

Citibank is trying to break up the GFG operations. Hopefully they pull through.

[Jaymz]

Citibank is trying to break up the GFG operations. Hopefully they pull through.

Yep, this is getting a bit murky. My take (only from skimming articles) is Citibank, acting on behalf of Credit Suisse are creditors of Greensill Capital, who were the financiers of GFG's operations and they are now wanting their money back. Sounds like a house of cards or dominoes, which ever analogy you wish to use. As I said, this is my very simplified take on things.

[Nathan]

Citibank is trying to break up the GFG operations. Hopefully they pull through.

Yep, this is getting a bit murky. My take (only from skimming articles) is Citibank, acting on behalf of Credit Suisse are creditors of Greensill Capital, who were the financiers of GFG's operations and they are now wanting their money back. Sounds like a house of cards or dominoes, which ever analogy you wish to use. As I said, this is my very simplified take on things.

[PeFe]

Canadian energy company Amp Energy is forging ahead with plans for a hydrogen hub near Whyalla.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/amp-energy- ... ogen-play/

[Will]

The Whyalla Hotel seems like it is forging ahead

From the Whyalla News:

Whyalla foreshore's new hotel development

By Lachlan Smith
Updated February 4 2022 at 9:39am, first published 9:28am



Hotel: Plans for the new foreshore hotel in Whyalla are continuing to develop to prepare for construction. Photo: supplied.



Hotel: Plans for the new foreshore hotel in Whyalla are continuing to develop to prepare for construction. Photo: supplied.
New foreshore hotel plans progress






Thrive Construct Executive Chairman Barrie Harrop has been working with architects and council to develop plans, despite COVID-19 restrictions.

Mr Harrop said the team was tracking well with the plans despite some setbacks, making variations to the plans based on feedback from the community during consultation.


"We want the community to be involved in this project because essentially they are our customers and we want people living in Whyalla to embrace this hotel and be proud of what we are doing."

Mr Harrop stressed that they would be holding back on pre sales for the apartments until construction is underway, anticipating that the demolition of the old building would occur towards the middle of the year.

"We are hoping we can get some support from the state government for regional investment particularly in terms of the employment opportunities and career path opportunities that we can present to the community in Whyalla."

Mr Harrop said the overall project would look to re-position Whyalla as an alternative tourism destination for an outback experience, and that the project would be 12 months of construction.



"It is an advance module hotel - We will be maximising the use of Whyalla produced steel, ensuring we are supporting local jobs and industry - other materials will need to be sourced elsewhere, such as the panelling of the hotel, which is cross-laminated timber (CLT) from plantation timber similar to the project of the Adelaide Oval Hotel."

The Ada Ryan Gardens will be integrated into the project, with Mr Harrop outlining how the hotel would open up the gardens as an extension to the International hotel.

"In summer the hotel will protect the wind from the garden - that will be a benefit. "It will also open up the opportunity to have receptions in marquees for weddings, community events, corporate events as an extension of the International hotel."

Mr Harrop said the hotel will have "unique attributes" and the other aspects he believes will draw people in.

"We are also aiming to target a new market, of course, the cuttlefish and diving season in winter is probably one of the best-kept secrets in the world...there is a whole range of divers in the world that are always looking for an exotic dive locations and Whyalla the unique giant cuttlefish gathering is simply not on the map essentially because of the lack of accommodation."

[PeFe]

Whyalla steelworks to discontinue coal as part of its steel production in favour of hydrogen.

From In Daily

Whyalla steelworks to dump coal for green growth plan

South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks – listed among the nation’s top carbon polluters – is installing a $485 million electric arc furnace in a plan to slash emissions by 90 per cent and create more jobs.


Sanjeev Gupta announcing the Whyalla Steelworks plan on Tuesday. Photo supplied: State Govt.
The low-carbon furnace will help the company phase out coal-based steelmaking while increasing capacity from one million tonnes to more than 1.5 million tonnes a year, according to owners Liberty Steel, part of the United Kingdom-based GFG Alliance.

UK-based executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta promised more jobs at the Whyalla plant that employs 3,500 South Australians, as the global steel business works toward shifting from “being the most polluting of all industries to (being) among the cleanest and greenest”.

Last year, the Australian Conservation Foundation listed the Whyalla Steelworks at number 10 in its September report into the nation’s highest polluters, after analysing five years of safeguard mechanism data.

Reforms to the safeguard mechanism passed by the federal government this month targeting around 215 of the nation’s top polluters with a new hard cap are expected to make greenhouse gas emissions fall by 205 million tonnes to 2030.

Premier Peter Malinauskas, Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis and federal Science and Energy Minister Ed Husic were in Whyalla for today’s announcement.

Equipment manufacturer Danieli is expected to finish building the new electric arc furnace in Whyalla in 2025, with the plant to initially be fed by domestic steel scrap and other iron-bearing materials to slash the steelworks’ carbon emissions.

It has capability for a direct feed from renewable power sources and is being funded by the business, which will also apply for a $50 million grant through the Whyalla Steel Taskforce funded by the State Government in 2016 to be used toward the investment, pending approvals.

The company is also installing a Direct Reduction Plant in Whyalla to process local magnetite ore to produce low carbon iron using a mix of natural gas and green hydrogen before transitioning to green hydrogen when it is available.

“Today marks the beginning of a new era placing Whyalla at the heart of a global revolution in the steel industry, moving it from being the most polluting of all industries to among the cleanest and greenest,” Gupta said.

“Through the steps we’re taking to install state of the art low carbon iron and steelmaking technologies here in Whyalla we will not only support Australia’s climate ambitions, but we will help to decarbonise steel supply chains globally.

“Whyalla has some of the best conditions to make low carbon iron and steel anywhere in the world and with our magnetite expansion plans, coupled with South Australia’s endless resource for renewable energy and green hydrogen, the potential for Whyalla has no bounds.”

The plant’s raw steel is mainly used in construction and rail transport industries.

Liberty Steel in 2021 announced a global decarbonisation strategy to be carbon neutral by 2030, and said today that low carbon and green low carbon iron made in Whyalla will feed its network of electric arc furnaces in Australia, Asia, Europe and the UK, helping to decarbonise steel supply chains across the world.

Malinauskas said the project showed the potential to create green products using hydrogen and was the reason why the government selected Whyalla to be home to the state’s Hydrogen Jobs Plan, including building a hydrogen power station.

“Whyalla and the broader Upper Spencer Gulf has enormous potential to lead the world in green hydrogen production, helping decarbonise industry across the planet,” he said.

“We look forward to working with key industrial players, including Liberty, to take full advantage of the opportunity to re-industrialise the Upper Spencer Gulf on the back of this.”

Conservation Council SA chief executive Craig Wilkins said the announcement marks an essential step in reducing emissions from heavy manufacturing in the state and using scrap metal as a fuel source will reduce the need for mining raw materials.

“Today’s announcement reinforces the seismic shift underway in heavy manufacturing, and is a testament to South Australia’s position as a global leader in energy transition,” Wilkins said.

“The key for long-term profitability and for market acceptance is to ensure sustainable production of green hydrogen and a quick transition away from fossil gas.

“And it’s an interesting indicator of where the green hydrogen debate is going in SA – shifting away from a primary focus on raw export of hydrogen, and more towards using green hydrogen to replace gas and coal in domestic manufacturing and heavy industries.”

https://indaily.com.au/news/2023/04/04/ ... owth-plan/

[SBD]

The Steel Wikipedia article starts "Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon ..."

Coal contains carbon. Hydrogen does not. To continue to make steel from iron ore (or scrap iron), a source of metallurgical carbon will be required. Is this a destination for all that stockpiled soft plastic? Will that have a high enough carbon content and consistent enough chemical content to use as a substitute for coal as an ingredient?