Dubbo City Council has accepted tenders with a combined total of more than $3.3 million for the project and early works at the site have already started.

Dubbo-based companies are among those chosen to take the 60-year-old saleyards into a new era and enhance its ability to come out on top of competitors. 

Council corporate development director Ken Rogers said the resolution passed last week deciding the sheep yard expansion and ancillary works was significant.

“This is a defining moment in the history of the livestock markets,” he said.

The director was also able to report significant savings had been achieved by calling separate tenders for the five components of the upgrade and appointing one company as the principal contractor in charge of safety.

“We envisaged we would be borrowing money internally to do the project but savings were made by way of how the tender was structured and we won’t need to borrow, it can be financed from the operation itself,” Mr Rogers said.

The progress has come after years of consideration about the ageing facility’s future and lobbying by some stakeholders for improvements.

Mr Rogers said a myriad of other options were “considered along the way” including selling it outright, a long-term lease and a “build, own, operate and transfer back” agreement but they were rejected.

“In the end council determined it would continue to own and operate the saleyards, (because it is) part of the long-term fabric of Dubbo and the region and contributes about $47.7 million annually to the regional economy, which is substantial,” he said.

The call for tenders met strong interest from the market.

Fourteen different companies were represented at a compulsory onsite pre-tender meeting, some of which were from interstate, Mr Rogers said.

A $1.15 million tender from David Payne Constructions was accepted for the concrete paving contract package.

The Dubbo-based company was also appointed the principal contractor for the project, including safety supervision and site management for the nominated sub-contractors.

The council accepted Proway Livestock Equipment’s tender for the sheep yards and ramps contract package at the price of $1.2 million.

Mr Rogers was pleased to report Dubbo companies were among those accepted.

“It’s a good injection to the local economy,” he said.

Dubbo has had one of the largest saleyards in Australia in terms of combined numbers of sheep and cattle and the upgrade will allow it to cater for an additional 9000 head of sheep.

The seven-point resolution adopted by the council was the recommendation of the saleyards advisory committee, which has representatives from all stakeholders.