Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers lodges response document to third consultation round

Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers Ltd (ASX:KPT) has lodged the response document to the third round of public consultation offered by the South Australian Government, for the proposed KI Seaport at Smith Bay. There were 82 submissions received, including four by state and Commonwealth government departments and one by Kangaroo Island Council. Of the remaining submissions, the largest group of 45 were out of scope and the second largest group of 21 commented on road network issues while seven commented on marine and pest management. With the exception of issues specific to one section of North Coast Road, the majority of issues raised in the third consultation round were previously raised in the first and second rounds. These were addressed in the response document submitted by KPT to the government in March 2020. Issues raised about North Coast Road were acknowledged in the second addendum and KPT is confident it has provided sufficient evidence of agreement with the Department of Infrastructure and Transport to enable the Minister of Planning to approve the proposed development at Smith Bay. Logs for Korean customer The company last month dispatched its first order of logs from Kangaroo Island via the SeaLink ferry at Penneshaw to a customer on mainland South Australia. The first barge is scheduled to depart Kingscote for Port Adelaide this week with logs for a South Korean customer. In the coming weeks, the company plans to dispatch several loads to prospective customers on mainland South Australia, and through its marketing agents, is exploring orders for Japan and India. “Only viable long-term option” KPT managing director Keith Lamb said: “It has been over a year since the fires occurred on Kangaroo Island and while the company awaits government’s decision for our proposed seaport at Smith Bay, we are activating our contingency plan for marketing logs from the fire-affected plantations. “We maintain our long-held belief that it is not in the interests of the community to see log trucks transiting through the two premier tourist towns of Kangaroo Island, while the potential development at Smith Bay remains unfulfilled. “Developing a modern, efficient, well-designed and well-managed port at Smith Bay remains the only viable long-term option, given the volume of timber to be exported.”