Author: POEM Admin

Attenuator Alignment

Open Letter from Port of Eden Marina Inc (POEM) to the Eden and South East Community and the Australian Boating Public

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An Independent Inquiry needed for Safe Harbour Project

“Snug Cove is a great asset for the future Eden that the community and boaters cannot afford to lose”

The POEM Committee is calling on the Member for Bega and Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance to establish an independent inquiry into the long stalled Snug Cove Safe Harbour project or call for competitive tenders for the agreed attenuator

The reason is simple. After costing over $3m of taxpayers’ money, over 8 years of countless meetings, multiple consultancies and considerable personal expense, the Snug Cove Safe Harbour project has not delivered any benefit for the Eden community or the boating public and appears most unlikely to do so in the future.

Since 2010 POEM has been consistently lobbying for a wave attenuator that will create a safe harbour and provide the basis for a commercial marina in Snug Cove

Many people and organisations have given strong support to the Snug Cove Safe Harbour project over the last decade because it can provide a wide range of jobs, increased tourism, better business in the town and greater overall investment for 365 days every year.

Close to the dangerous Bass Strait, Eden has the only deepwater harbour between Sydney and Tasmania and Melbourne. It is acknowledged by all the experts as the perfect location for an all weather marina on the NSW South Coast.

After years of studies and negotiations, POEM and the key departments agreed in mid 2018 on the alignment and design of the attenuator which is displayed in a shop window in the middle of Eden

The Government did not go out for competitive tenders but asked the company that built wharf extension to quote for this project. The company was in financial difficulties. It submitted a ridiculously high price and promptly went into liquidation.

The Government is now claiming that the agreed attenuator is too expensive. They are developing a cheaper, radically modified design which, we believe, will neither provide for a safe harbour nor enable a marina ever to be to be built in Snug Cove. This will be permanent loss to the community looking for economic recovery.

One of the most senior marina designers in Australia has advised POEM, that the agreed attenuator can easily be built within the project budget of $19m. His advice is based on the actual verified cost of a recently built and similar attenuator in Tasmania. The Government is refusing to even consider this advice or obtain competitive tenders.

To put it mildly, there are many unanswered questions about this whole project. An independent inquiry into this potential major setback for the community seems the only way forward if competitive tenders are not held.

To support the Snug Cove Safe Harbour project email Andrew Constance at bega@parliament.nsw.gov.au

POEM is a non profit community association formed in 2010 to promote jobs, investment and tourism in Eden through the development of a Safe Harbour with scope for a commercial marina.

POEM Committee:

Robin Arthur, President, Jon Gaul, Public Officer, Rob Bain, Secretary, Peter Smith, Ray Tynan, Bryan Hunter, Kent Farrell, Tony Lewis, Glenn Brunette, John Balfour, Peter Horne, Stephen Taylor

Advice from TAS MARINE CONSTRUCTION that attenuator can be built within budget PDF 34K
April 2019 Environmental Impact Statement PDF 7Mb

Eden Safe Harbour Marina Project Delayed

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The construction schedule for the Safe Harbour project in Snug Cove is now well behind where it was this time last year and is clearly delayed, Secretary of Port of Eden Marina Inc (POEM), Dr Robert Bain said today.

This is despite assurances from the Member for Bega and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance that the project will go ahead.

The problem appears to be the cost of the wave attenuator (panel breakwater) and the inexplicable determination of the Government departments not to go out for competitive tenders.

After years of studies and several unsuccessful attempts, a location and design for the attenuator that would maximise the number of safe marina berths was agreed by the Government and POEM in mid 2018.

This has been on display in the window of the shop next to the Post Office in the main Street of Eden for about a year.

This design would provide a safe deepwater harbour for about 170 vessels and give the greatest possible number of jobs and maximum economic benefit for the Eden community from the marina.

The detailed design was completed in late 2018 (at a cost of $3 million) but, rather than go to competitive tender the project was given to Waterways Construction. Waterways put in a very high bid and then decided to close their Eden operation. Since then the project appears stalled.

The budget for the project is $19 million. The cost submitted by Waterways was, we believe, about $23 million or $64,000 per linear metre. The going cost based on similar attenuators built in recent years is around $20,000 per metre. This would mean about $8 million for the Snug Cove attenuator, well within the budget.

Why a relatively straight forward panel breakwater attenuator would cost treble the cost elsewhere and around half as much as the massive wharf and dredging project for the cruise ships remains a mystery.

A competitive tender process for the agreed attenuator is the obvious and risk free solution.

POEM is a non profit, Eden community association that has been working on this project for about 8 years.

Our members believe that Eden needs to capitalise on the great asset which is Snug Cove and future proof the attenuator to the maximum extent possible.

POEM Media Release 11 December 2019

Snug Cove Safe Harbour Marina Project: An Update

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The project is nearly back on track after delays caused by an apparent cost blow out and subsequent withdrawal by the company that had been asked to tender for the construction of the attenuator.

Without a wave attenuator, a marina will not be possible in Snug Cove. 

However, POEM has received compelling evidence indicating that the proposed fixed panel wave attenuator that has absorbed so much Government and POEM time and money in recent years can be built within the budget of $19m. Read More

POEM Media Release: Eden Safe Harbour Project Moves Ahead

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The future of the Snug Cove marina depends on the design of the attenuator.

The commencement of the attenuator construction phase of the Safe Harbour Project is getting closer, POEM Secretary, Rob Bain said today. As a consequence a new Eden marina industry with marina linked jobs and investment is, also, that much closer.

$10 million from the NSW Government for the attenuator is making the whole project possible.

Read More

IMC EOI Review

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“The proposed attenuator alignment would lead to the loss of about 100 berths relative to the 170 berth marine concept … making the marina non-commercial at 70 berths. Also, we have strong doubts as to the “moderate” wave climate being suitable for a marina where maximum wave heights in the protected area could well be in excess of 1m.”

International Marine Consultants’ Wave Attenuator Contract EOI Review (PDF)

Eden Marina Project Underway At Last

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The NSW Government has advised the Port of Eden Community Liaison Group (23 August 2017) that it will be calling for expressions of interest for a wave attenuator in Snug Cove in October this year.
The EOI process will be followed by calling tenders for construction.
This is welcome news for the Eden community and the Port of Eden Marina Association (POEM).  Years of studies, meetings and lobbying – plus the ongoing support from Andrew Constance – are at last paying off.
Eden is the only deepwater port for small vessels in South East NSW and East Gippsland. The addition of a safe harbour in Snug Cove will be very welcome by permanent and transiting boats, including the Sydney-Hobart fleet.
The main criteria for the attenuator will be creating the maximum protected area in Snug Cove without impacting on the berthing pocket for the cruise ships and ensuring that marina wave requirements are met.
While the visual impact of the attenuator may, initially, be quite stark, once the Snug Cove Safe Harbour is more or less full of boats, both the appearance and value of the attenuator to Eden will become very obvious.