Hydro has been preparing the site, located near Newcastle in Australia, for sale since its closure in 2014, managing demolition, remediation and rezoning activities at the site.

Site manager Richard Brown says the decision to sell the site to Flow Systems was due to the values shared between the two groups.

“Flow Systems is the ideal partner for us to work with to renew the Kurri Kurri site while meeting our environmental and social commitments to the people of the local region. Environmental stewardship is a hallmark of Hydro’s business and we selected Flow because their commitment to sustainable economic and environmental values was directly aligned with ours,” says Brown.

Over the next 10 years the project is expected to deliver approximately 250ha for employment activities, around 250ha for residential development, and more than 1,200 hectares for conservation purposes. This is expected to generate employment opportunities during the construction phase as well as long-term jobs in retail, commercial, industrial and tourism sectors.

According to the agreement, Flow takes immediate responsibility for the development and transition of the site while Hydro will continue the demolition and remediation of the smelter and surrounding land, which is expected to take another three to five years to complete.

Demolition, remediation and recycling is well underway along with Biodiversity Certification for 1,250 hectares of conservation lands (85% of the buffer land around the smelter site) and rezoning of the remaining areas for residential and commercial use.