Preliminary business case for the Ord River expansion to the Northern Territory

The Ord River expansion project is critical to unlocking Northern Australia’s abundant and untapped economic potential.

The availability of a reliable and sustainable water supply can provide the level of confidence needed to attract private sector investors, driving economic growth, diversification, sustainability and development opportunities in the Northern Territory (NT), Western Australia (WA) and nationally.

NT Portions 1584 and 3221, located within the Spirit Hills Pastoral Lease (PPL No. 1200), has been identified for large scale irrigated agricultural development since the 1990s.

To support the proposed agricultural development of this land, a preliminary business case was developed to investigate the options to expand the Ord River Irrigation Scheme to deliver water to the NT from Lake Argyle in WA.

This National Water Grid project is funded by the Australian Government.

The NT Government’s Agribusiness Development and Facilitated Projects teams, in collaboration with the WA Government, coordinated the preliminary business case.

Review the preliminary business case PDF (1.8 MB).

Learn more about the National Water Grid Authority.

Detailed business case

In July 2024, the Australian Government announced an investment of $2.3 million to develop a detailed business case (DBC) for the Ord River expansion to the Northern Territory project, through the National Water Grid Fund.

The project will assess the options identified in the preliminary business case to determine which opportunity is the optimum solution for the Ord River Irrigation Scheme to cross the WA border into the NT for agricultural development at the Weber Plains Precinct. The DBC will also assess the economic returns of expanding the scheme along with agricultural and regional development opportunities.

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries will deliver the DBC in partnership with the WA and Australian Government’s.

Learn more about the detailed business case on the National Water Grid website.