Western Sydney company Jonishan Pty Ltd will be paid $6.82 million to build an underground pipeline at Dubbo for use "in times of severe drought".
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Dubbo Regional Council will pay the bill from the $30 million given to it by the state government last year to boost the region's groundwater supplies during the worst drought in living memory.
Jonishan, which lists the council as a client on its website along with the likes of Lend Lease and Roads and Maritime Services, is promising to deliver the project "on time and budget".
The project is scheduled for completion in "early 2021".
"We look forward to helping safeguard one of the region's most precious resource in times of drought, drinking water," Jonishan director John Shannon said in a statement issued by the council.
Jonishan was among 19 companies nationwide to tender for the cross-city pipeline, now dubbed the non-potable pipeline project by the council.
"The non-potable pipeline project will take groundwater from recreational bores to the John Gilbert Water Treatment Plant in times of severe drought," Dubbo regional mayor Ben Shields said.
"The dual pipeline will also allow recycled water from the Dubbo Sewage Treatment Plant to replace non-potable groundwater."
Jonishan, which calls itself the "go to" company for developers of "more complex" civil projects, is already at work in Dubbo.
"The contractor is responsible for the detailed design and construction of the pipeline," a council spokeswoman told the Daily Liberal this week.
"The contractor undertakes the non-destructive digging and survey initially to identify all services within the pipeline route and to provide to the design team.
"The final design drawings will then identify the services and determine the route to accommodate for existing services."
The council has previously advised that the pipeline will be installed underground and "along the road corridor that council manages or on council-owned land".
Its protracted tendering process was the result of interested companies seeking more time to submit tenders and the easing of the drought.
Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders notes the pipeline is "one of the measures" being funded by the $30 million.
"I am glad to see things are progressing on a project that will have a huge long-term benefit for Dubbo and other parts of our region," he said.
The pipeline is the signature project of the council's Water for the Future Strategy which "aims to provide drought security for Dubbo through the access of additional groundwater".
The $6.82 million cost of the project includes GST (goods and services tax).