The South Australian Government has reached a new deal to sell a parcel of vacant industrial land at Gillman, after a much criticised exclusive contract fell through.
Waste management company Veolia will buy 20 hectares of land, with options to purchase a further 182 hectares over a five-year period.
Veolia previously took legal action against the State Government over its controversial deal to give Adelaide Capital Partners exclusive rights to the land, an arrangement which ultimately fell through.
An Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation of the deal cleared South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis but found former Renewal SA chief executive Fred Hansen engaged in conduct amounting to maladministration.
Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said Veolia intends to shift its SA headquarters to Gillman and to use the land to convert waste to energy.
"Veolia's vision to transform the Gillman land into a showcase site for waste management and renewable energy production and sustainable cities is a great opportunity for South Australia," Mr Mullighan said.
"It has the potential to generate hundreds of jobs during construction and thousands of ongoing jobs."
Mr Mullighan said Veolia's proposal was chosen after an "extensive expressions of interest process".
Veolia plant 'clean, efficient, cost-effective'
Veolia executive general manager Laurie Kozlovic said the plant would be both efficient and clean.
"Veolia has built more than 70 waste-to-energy plants around the world and the combustion process we will use for our plant at Gillman is efficient and clean, providing a reliable source of renewable energy," he said.
"Our ability to fill the land at Gillman through our own resources means we have a cost-effective resolution to one of the land's biggest development challenges.
"This will enable us to make parcels of land more attractive to third parties in the proposed industrial park as there will be a lower development risk for them."
Mr Kozlovic said Veolia had received strong interest from several businesses that need sizeable parcels of land.
