BMT WBM (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has provided critical inputs to the Environment Impact Statement (EIS), in the areas of flooding, water quality and coastal processes for the A$ 8.15 billion AQUIS Great Barrier Reef Resort Project proposed in Cairns in north Queensland.
The EIS has been prepared by Flanagan Consulting Group for the proposed integrated resort and casino project featuring accommodation for up to 12,000 guests in eight hotels and suite towers; a 33 hectare artificial lake and 40 hectare resort ‘island’. The project also includes an 18 hole championship golf course and a sports and recreation precinct as well as an environmental management and conservation precinct.
The AQUIS Resort development also involves major infrastructure including a seawater exchange system connected to the Coral Sea to maintain water quality in the lake. BMT has designed the lake circulation and water quality management system using leading edge TUFLOW FV modelling, verified through an intensive field monitoring campaign carried out in crocodile infested waters by BMT staff.
Detailed numerical flood modelling using a new TUFLOW model of the Barron River Delta was also carried out to size the lake and to ensure no adverse flooding impacts occur in adjacent flood sensitive areas. BMT has also specified the design requirements for the Yorkeys Knob Road upgrade to 100 year flood trafficable standard with an associated 1,000 metres of culverting and two large bridges.
The AQUIS Great Barrier Reef resort will be Australia’s largest private, non-mining project and will compete on the world stage to attract more than one million visitors per year to Cairns and Far North Queensland.