Council Award Tambo Bluff Contract
Media Release: East Gippsland Shire, Wednesday 8 October 2008

East Gippsland Shire Councilors last night awarded a contract to provide services to properties on the Tambo Bluff estate to Heyfield contractors McInnes Earthmoving Pty Ltd.

The contract for the almost $13 million project includes construction of sealed roads, underground storm water drainage, reticulated water and wastewater supply as well as undergrounding of electricity supply and telecommunications cabling.

Mayor Cr Mendy Urie said that a total of ten tenders had been received for the works that were expected to take 18 months to complete and virtually all were in line with project budgets and cost estimates.

The Tambo Bluff Estate was created in the 1960’s on an area of land immediately to the west of the village of Metung on a site overlooking the Gippsland Lakes. 

Originally it comprised more 1200 individual allotments of an unacceptably small average size.

There are approximately 80 dwellings on the site serviced by overhead electricity supply and while some gravelled roads have been constructed since the site was first developed the land remains predominantly un-serviced. 

A Special Charge Scheme through which landowners will have up to 20 years to pay will fund the construction work.

Shire director infrastructure Chris Waites said that work was expected to start before Christmas.

“Although the successful contractor is technically from outside East Gippsland a high proportion of the materials and labour for the job will be locally sourced,” he said.